ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2013, Official Report, column 709W, on electoral register, what targets exist for registration form downloads for all current (a) electoral registration drives and (b) awareness campaigns conducted by the Electoral Commission; and how such targets have been set.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not set targets for registration form downloads for all of its campaigns, only where this would be appropriate. The only current campaign with such a target is focussed on increasing the levels of voter registration among British citizens living overseas, which has a target of 25,000 registration form downloads from:
	www.aboutmyvote.co.uk
	This target was set to expand significantly on the 7,000 forms downloaded during the last European elections campaign for overseas voters in 2009 and to also reflect the increase in internet use in the subsequent period.
	The Commission is also in the final stages of preparing its UK-wide voter registration campaign ahead of the May 2014 European parliamentary, local and mayoral elections.
	The download target for this campaign will be 150,000 across the UK. These were established to exceed the 137,000 successful downloads achieved during the similar elections in 2009.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2013, Official Report, column 709W, on electoral register, what progress the Electoral Commission is making in its investigation as to whether to measure and set targets for the number of electoral registrations; and when such investigations will (a) be completed and (b) have their results reported to Parliament.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that, as part of its continuing investigation into this issue, it intends to examine the new system of online registration to identify whether this could provide a more effective mechanism for informing the targets for its campaigns.
	This includes looking at whether the new system could inform a target based on actual registrations, as opposed to the current proxy of registration form downloads from its www.aboutmyvote.co.uk website. If this proves possible, the Commission will look at what new target could be set for its campaign in the lead up to the 2015 general election.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2013, Official Report, column 709W, on electoral register, what targets existed for electoral registration form downloads in each of the Electoral Commission's registration awareness campaign; and which such campaigns (a) exceeded and (b) did not meet their target.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that data on download targets is available for the voter registration campaigns it has conducted since 2009.
	All campaigns hit their download target and the following table demonstrates the success of each campaign against the target set.
	
		
			 Campaign Downloads Target 
			 European Parliament 2009 137,000 50,000 
			 General election 2010 466,000 142,000 
			 PVS referendum 2011 (limited registration activity) 131,000 75,000 
			 English, Scottish and Welsh elections 2012 146,000 75,000 
			 English local elections 2013 87,000 75,000

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what evidence will be needed to de-register an elector after the implementation of individual voter registration.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that, following the implementation of individual electoral registration (IER), in order to remove the entry of a person who is individually registered from the register the electoral registration officer (ERO) must make a determination that the person is no longer entitled to be registered.
	The procedures that EROs must follow in making such a determination and the requirements for supporting information, where applicable, are set out in Section 10ZE of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (as inserted by Schedule 1 to the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013) and the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 (and equivalent regulations for Scotland).
	Under IER an ERO can determine that a person is no longer entitled to be registered following a formal review of the entry or, in specified circumstances, without undertaking a review if they have information to support such a determination. This information includes notification of successful registration elsewhere from another ERO or the IER ‘digital service'; notification of death from a registrar; or receipt of a death certificate. Otherwise, an ERO may only determine that a person is no longer entitled to be registered if they have information from at least two different sources to support the determination.
	The Commission has published detailed guidance for EROs on removing entries from the register which is available on its website:
	Part 3: ‘The transition to IER’ (Chapter 8)
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/162576/Part-3-The-transition-to-IER-in-2014-15.pdf
	Part 4: ‘Maintaining the register throughout the year’ (Chapters 9 and 10).
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/162578/Part-4-Maintaining-the-register-throughout-the-year.pdf

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission when online voter registration will start; and what steps the commission has taken to inform hon. Members of this change.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the transition to individual electoral registration (IER) will commence on 10 June this year, at which point online voter registration will also begin. The commission is working closely with the Cabinet Office to ensure the online voter registration system is operational by the time IER commences. The commission will continue to provide hon. Members with regular updates during the transition period, which will include information about the new online voter registration system.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission whether the Electoral Commission has conducted any follow-up research on the 14 authorities which piloted data matching on the increase in registration rates on the wards with the lowest turnout.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not conducted any follow-up research with the authorities.
	However, the commission has reported on further data matching exercises. These include a further test of the use of national databases to find electors not already on the registers (“data mining”), a test of the use of Department for Works and Pensions data to “confirm” existing electors on the registers during the transition to individual electoral registration (IER) and the subsequent Great Britain-wide test of this confirmation process.
	Full evaluation reports on these exercises can be found here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/our-research/electoral-registration-research

Electoral Register: Denbighshire

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in (a) Denbighshire County Council and (b) Vale of Clwyd.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
	The ward results for Denbighshire County Council are as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Ward Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Bodelwyddan 79.5 2.3 18.1 
			 Corwen 79.7 3.7 16.6 
			 Denbigh Central 75.2 4.1 20.8 
			 Denbigh Lower 82.4 2.8 14.8 
			 Denbigh Upper/Henllan 83.3 2.8 13.8 
			 Dyserth 82.6 2.5 14.9 
			 Efenechtyd 84.5 2.4 13.1 
			 Llanarmon-Yn-lal/Llandegla 80.6 3.2 16.2 
			 Llanbedr Dyffryn Clwyd/Llangynhafal 80.0 3.9 16.1 
			 Llandrillo 79.4 3.5 17.1 
			 Llandyrnog 80.4 4.0 15.6 
			 Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd/Gwyddelwern 80.6 2.6 16.7 
			 Llangollen 78.3 3.4 18.2 
			 Llanrhaeadr-Yng-Nghinmeirch 82.4 3.4 14.2 
			 Prestatyn Central 85.9 2.3 11.8 
			 Prestatyn East 82.6 1.9 15.4 
			 Prestatyn Meliden 84.7 1.8 13.5 
			 Prestatyn North 84.3 1.5 14.2 
			 Prestatyn South West 84.4 1.3 14.3 
			 Rhuddlan 84.6 1.9 13.5 
			 Rhyl East 78.9 5.1 16.0 
			 Rhyl South 86.4 1.0 12.6 
			 Rhyl South East 85.0 1.3 13.7 
			 Rhyl South West 84.5 1.8 13.7 
			 Rhyl West 61.3 12.4 26.3 
			 Ruthin 81.8 2.6 15.5 
			 St Asaph East 80.9 1.6 17.5 
			 St Asaph West 83.4 1.9 14.8 
			 Trefnant 80.9 3.6 15.5 
			 Tremeirchion 78.7 3.7 17.7 
		
	
	The results for the wards that make up the Vale of Clwyd are as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Ward Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Bodelwyddan 79.5 2.3 18.1 
			 Denbigh Central 75.2 4.1 20.8 
			 Denbigh Lower 82.4 2.8 14.8 
			 Denbigh Upper/Henllan 83.3 2.8 13,8 
			 Dyserth 82.6 2.5 14.9 
			 Llandyrnog 80.4 4.0 15.6 
			 Prestatyn Central 85.9 2.3 11.8 
			 Prestatyn East 82.6 1.9 15.4 
			 Prestatyn Meliden 84.7 1.8 13.5 
			 Prestatyn North 84.3 1.5 14.2 
			 Prestatyn South West 84.4 1.3 14.3 
			 Rhuddlan 84.6 1.9 13.5 
			 Rhyl East 78.9 5.1 16.0 
			 Rhyl South 86.4 1.0 12.6 
			 Rhyl South East 85.0 1.3 13.7 
			 Rhyl South West 84.5 1.8 13.7 
			 Rhyl West 61.3 12.4 26.3 
			 St Asaph East 80.9 1.6 17.5 
			 St Asaph West 83.4 1.9 14.8 
			 Trefnant 80.9 3.6 15.5 
			 Tremeirchion 78.7 3.7 17.7

Electoral Register: Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2014, Official Report, columns 321-3W, on absent voting, whether the qualitative survey conducted by the Electoral Commission provided any information on current levels of electoral fraud.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that this qualitative research did not provide any information on current levels of fraud and was not designed to do so.
	However, since 2008, the Commission has published annual information on the number of recorded cases of electoral fraud. This data is collected in collaboration with the Association of Chief Police Officers.
	The Commission intends to publish data on the number of cases recorded during 2013 by the end of March 2014.
	Full details of all this data can be found here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/electoral-fraud/electoral-fraud-responsibilities

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Africa

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to which African countries he (a) has appointed and (b) intends to appoint prosperity officers.

Mark Simmonds: In response to the opportunities presented by economic growth across sub-Saharan Africa we have over the last 18 months increased substantially the number of prosperity officers in the region. Additionally we have established Regional Prosperity networks in South, West and East Africa to support the local business environment and UK companies in winning business. We have prosperity officers in 22 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. These are: Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. There are no current plans to appoint additional prosperity officers.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has received from the Bosnia-Herzegovinian government on the political and security situation in that country.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not received representations from the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on the country's political and security situation. UK Ministers and senior officials continue to urge BiH's leaders to implement the reforms needed to break the current political stalemate. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), met recently the BiH Prime Minister, Vjekoslav Bevanda and emphasised the need for political and economic progress in BiH. He advocated continued strong EU engagement in BiH while expressing disappointment that BiH's leaders had not delivered on the EU path so far. We continue to encourage BiH's leaders to respond to the population's calls for reform.
	This action is in line with our long-term support for BiH's stability. We are committed to European Union Force's maintenance of the safe and secure environment in BiH, and are proud of the UK's contributions in theatre, and through a reserve company, 1 Scots. Our support for BiH civil society includes the recent British BiH Fellowship Programme, a one-month residential programme designed to equip BiH's future leaders with the skills and experience to lead positive change in their country.

Iran

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on whether in her capacity as High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy the right hon. Baroness Ashton of Upholland scheduled to visit Iran for nuclear talks.

Hugh Robertson: Baroness Ashton plans to travel to Iran in the coming days, but her visit is still to be confirmed. The focus of the visit would be EU/Iran relations and include discussion of human rights and regional issues.

Iran

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is intended that a permanent nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 will include a comprehensive monitoring framework of Iran's future nuclear activities.

Hugh Robertson: A comprehensive agreement between the E3+3 and Iran will need to include a robust, independent and comprehensive monitoring and verification regime. It will also need to include implementation of the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and agreement to the modified code 3.1 of its comprehensive safeguard agreement. This will be a vital element in ensuring Iran's programme is exclusively peaceful. The Joint Plan of Action agreed in November 2013 sets out such a requirement for a rigorous verification framework.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in Chelmsford constituency in receipt of welfare and disability benefits are liable to pay council tax.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 4 March 2014
	The Department does not collect this data. Council tax support is set locally, and it is for local authorities to ensure that the effect on specific groups of council tax payers is proportionate and fair. We made a £100 million transition grant available in 2013-14 to help councils develop well-designed schemes and maintain incentives to work.
	Spending on council tax benefit doubled under the last Government, costing taxpayers £4 billion a year—equivalent to almost £180 a year per household. Welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit left by the last Administration.
	Our reforms to localise council tax support now give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people to into work. We are ending the last Administration's 'something for nothing' culture and making work pay.

Fire Services

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of (a) whole time and (b) retained firefighters were (i) women and (ii) black or from an ethnic minority background in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: Numbers of staff employed by each fire and rescue authority in England for the stated categories are published on the Department's website in the appendix tables, which accompany the Fire and Rescue Operational Statistics Bulletin:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-and-rescue-authorities-operational-statistics
	For 2009-10 the numbers are located in appendix tables 5 and 6.
	For 2010-11 onwards they are located in appendix tables 6 and 7.
	The general trend is an increased proportion of firefighters being recruited from such groups.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people subject to the under-occupancy penalty were evicted in each London borough in the last 12 months.

Kris Hopkins: In my answer of 27 November 2013, Official Report, column 340W, I observed that a report from the social housing regulator, the Homes and Communities Agency, noted that in the second quarter since the removal of the spare room subsidy (i.e. second quarter of 2013-14), there had been no indication of significant adverse performance in arrears, voids or rent collection.
	The Agency has recently published figures for the third quarter of 2013-14 and it notes that median rate arrears fell in the last quarter (from 4.1% to 3.9%), that median void losses were unchanged, and that median rent collection rose from 98% to 99%. The Agency concluded:
	“the overall picture on income collection is one of stability”
	(HCA, ‘Quarterly Survey of Private Registered Providers 2013/14 Quarter 3’, February 2014).
	Moreover, according to the most recent Ministry of Justice statistics, the number of cases lodged by social landlords for repossessions by county court bailiffs across the whole of England and Wales was 4,757 in Q1 2013, 4,600 in Q2 2013 and 4,992 in Q4 2013. As a proportion of all landlord repossession claims, the social sector encompassed 51% of all repossession claims in Q1 2013, 50% in Q2 2013, 51% in Q3 2013 and 52% in Q4 2013. This gives lie to some of the recent exaggerated claims made by HM Opposition.
	I would add that the removal of the spare room subsidy is estimated to save £490 million of taxpayers' money in Great Britain in 2013-14 by reducing the benefit bill, helping pay off the budget deficit left by the last Administration. The measure also encourages the more effective use of social housing, by addressing the under-occupation of family homes.

Housing: Construction

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to assign a proportion of all building permissions granted for developments of over 30 houses for self builds.

Nicholas Boles: holding answer 28 February 2014
	The National Planning Policy Framework asks councils through their Local Plans to meet the full, objectively assessed needs for all types of housing in their areas, and to identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites for housing which are sufficient to provide five years worth of housing against their housing needs. To deliver a wide choice of quality homes, the Framework sets out that councils should plan for a mix of housing, taking into account the needs of different groups in the community, such as people wishing to build their own homes.
	We have also published draft planning guidance to support councils to plan for people wishing to build their own homes. The guidance makes clear our commitment to enabling more people to build their own home and to make this form of housing a mainstream housing option. The guidance is clear that local planning authorities should plan to meet the strong latent demand for such housing and suggests way to identify that demand, including considering surveying local residents and compiling a list or register of people who want to build their own homes.
	In addition to draft Government guidance, The National Self Build Association has published ‘Planning for Custom Build Housing: A Practice Guide’, which offers helpful advice to councils, housing associations, developers, self-build community groups and individuals on the ways they can facilitate self and custom-build development and make it easier for people to build their own homes.
	The Government is also providing a wide range of support for those wishing to build their own home, including:
	exempting people who want to build their own home from the Community Infrastructure Levy;
	freeing up more surplus public sector land in co-operation with the Homes and Communities Agency to bring forward a range of sites for custom build homes;
	introducing a £30 million Custom Build Homes Fund which makes available repayable finance for larger multi-unit projects;
	enabling community groups who want to build their own homes to apply for a share of £65 million available grant funding through the Affordable Homes Guarantees Programme; and
	taking forward proposals to consult on a new 10-unit threshold for section 106 affordable housing contributions.

Housing: Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward legislative proposals aimed at ensuring that all new properties are fitted with flood resistant bricks.

Stephen Williams: Building work must meet the functional requirements of schedule 1 to the building regulations. Approved Documents provide guidance on means of compliance with the relevant functional requirements. There is no obligation to adopt any particular solution given in an Approved Document and other methods and materials may be suitable in the particular circumstances.
	It is Government policy to ensure that the building regulations are material and technology-neutral to avoid inhibiting product innovation. Flood resistance can be delivered in a number of ways and flood resistant bricks are not the only method.
	Approved Document C, ‘Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture’, refers to advice on flood resilience set out in the joint DCLG/DEFRA/Environment Agency publication, ‘Improving the flood performance of new buildings—flood resilient construction’. This document provides advice on the flood resistance and resilience of different construction materials.

Local Government Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much each local authority has received from the local government emergency fund in the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: Bellwin provides emergency financial assistance to local authorities to help them meet uninsurable costs they incur when responding to a major emergency in their area. The level of funding over time is casually linked to the scale of flooding or other emergency. It operates by local authorities retrospectively claiming spending back.
	The following table sets out how much each local authority has received from the Bellwin scheme of Emergency Financial Assistance to Local Authorities in each of the last five years.
	
		
			 Bellwin payments 2009-10 to 20013-14 
			 Year of Payment Local Authority Grant Paid (£) 
			 2009-10 Castle Morpeth Borough Council 24,452 
			  Eden District Council 2,281 
			  Herefordshire Council 607,872 
			  Shropshire County Council 710,061 
			 Total for year  1,344,666 
			    
			 2010-11 Allerdale Borough Council 302,847 
			  Cumbria County Council 408,297 
			  Cumbria Police Authority 148,049 
			  South Lakeland District Council 30,348 
			 Total for year  889,541 
			    
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 — — 
			 Total for year  0 
			    
			 2012-13 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council 76,668 
			  City of Lincoln 24,870 
			  Gateshead Council 393,939 
			  Herefordshire Council 218,499 
			  Royal Berkshire Fire Authority 404,640 
			 Total for year  1,118,616 
			    
			 2013-14 (to date) Devon County Council 3,023,598 
			  Herefordshire Council 2,048,963 
			  Richmondshire District Council 915 
			  Newark and Sherwood District Council 3,407 
			  Teignbridge District Council 38,234 
			  Uttlesford District Council 16,643 
			 Total for year  5,131,760 
			    
			 Total over last five years  8,484,583 
			 Note: Payments may not necessarily be in the same financial year as the incidents occurred. The amount claimed is net of threshold and grant rate.

Local Government Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the size was of the local government emergency fund in each year for which figures are available; and how much his Department has allocated in such funding in each of the next three years.

Brandon Lewis: Bellwin provides emergency financial assistance to local authorities to help them meet uninsurable costs they incur when responding to a major emergency in their area. The level of funding over time is casually linked to the scale of flooding or other emergency. It operates by local authorities retrospectively claiming spending back.
	The table sets out the total payments each year made through the Bellwin Scheme of Emergency Financial Assistance to Local Authorities since 2000-01. No payments have yet been made in respect of the recent winter severe weather events.
	For 2014-15 and 2015-16, the Department is holding an initial contingency of £4.8 million for Bellwin. As with the recent weather events, additional funding will be provided as necessary. Allocations for years beyond 2015-16 will be determined at the next spending round.
	
		
			  Total (£) 
			 2000-01 4,100,000 
			 2001-02 25,800,000 
			 2002-03 63,138 
			 2003-04 106,763 
			 2004-05 447,565 
		
	
	
		
			 2005-06 2,493,008 
			 2006-07 738,999 
			 2007-08 17,543,304 
			 2008-09 1,941,993 
			 2009-10 1,344,666 
			 2010-11 889,541 
			 2011-12 0 
			 2012-13 1,118,616 
			 2013-14 5,131,760 
			 Notes: 1. Payments may not necessarily be in the same financial year as the incidents occurred. 2. The amount claimed is net of threshold and grant rate. 3. The 2000-0l and 2001-02 totals are approximations.

Non-domestic Rates: Lancashire

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been collected in business rates in (a) Hyndburn constituency and (b) Rossendale in each of the last 10 years.

Brandon Lewis: Details of the amount of non-domestic rates (in £ million) that were collected in (a) Hyndburn and (b) Rossendale local authority areas in each of the last 10 years are shown in the following table. The data are the amount that was collected in the year, irrespective of the year to which it relates before the deduction of any allowances for the cost of collection. Data are not collected at constituency level.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Hyndburn Rossendale 
			 2003-04 16.4 9.5 
			 2004-05 16.2 9.6 
			 2005-06 16.8 9.7 
			 2006-07 17.1 10.3 
			 2007-08 16.4 11.2 
			 2008-09 19.9 12.2 
			 2009-10 18.7 11.6 
			 2010-11 17.9 11.8 
			 2011-12 19.6 11.7 
			 2012-13 20.5 13.0 
		
	
	Data were collected on auditor certified national non-domestic rates (NNDR3) out-turn forms completed annually by all billing authorities in England.
	These figures will reflect changes to the overall size and valuation of hereditaments for example new buildings, as well as changes to different types of rate relief.
	We announced a £1 billion business rates support package at the autumn statement including:
	a 2% cap in retail prices index increase in business rates for 2014-15;
	a business rate discount of £1,000 for smaller retail premises, for two years from April 2014-will benefit around 300,000 shops, pubs and restaurants;
	doubling small business rate relief extended for another year which will support 540,000 of the smallest businesses;
	a 50% discount for 18 months to new occupants of vacant shops; and
	allowing ratepayers to pay bills over 12 instalments (rather than 10).

Property Development: Floods

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many times he has exercised his power of calling in a planning application to (a) approve and (b) reject a planning application for (i) housing and (ii) commercial development on a flood plain or in an area of flood risk.

Nicholas Boles: As I indicated in my answer of 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 560W, over 99% of the new residential units in planning decisions notified to the Environment Agency were decided in line with their advice on flood risk.
	Since the establishment of the National Planning Casework Unit in March 2011, one application has been called in for major development on an area of flood risk. That application has yet to be determined.
	Call-in powers are used very selectively and rarely (for example, just 10 applications were called-in across England in 2012-13 according to Planning Inspectorate statistics), as this involves Ministers taking the planning decision away from the local authority and determining it centrally. In a locally-led planning system, councils should take the lead in addressing flood risk.
	However, we have provided clear national guidance to local authorities. The National Planning Policy Framework states that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided. Local planning authorities should direct development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains, but where development is necessary, it must be demonstrated that it is safe and will not increase flood risk elsewhere.
	As I explained in my answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, column 418W, there will invariably be some development in flood risk areas, not least for the fact that many towns and cities are in flood risk areas.
	Flood prevention measures, like robust flood and coastal defences, can make development appropriate where it would otherwise not be. For example, London is at risk of tidal flooding, as evident from the North sea floods of 1953 which inflicted immense damage on the East End of London. However, since 1983, the Thames Barrier has mitigated that risk.
	National planning policy is clear that any new buildings that are needed in flood risk areas are appropriately flood resistant and resilient. Mitigation measures such as land raising, landscaping, raised thresholds and re-arranging the internal uses of buildings, can sometimes also make development acceptable in such areas. Such measures can be made a requirement of any planning consent by the local authority.

Property Development: Floods

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Leeds Central of 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 560W, on housing: floods, if he will bring forward measures to levy fines on developers who build on flood plains and other flood threatened areas against advice by the Environment Agency not to build on those sites; and if he will use the money raised to support recurrent flood victims.

Nicholas Boles: Developers cannot build without planning permission by the local planning authority. Councils already have a range of enforcement powers to tackle unauthorised development, including failure to meet the conditions attached to any planning permission. These powers allow for the issuing of unlimited fines on indictment in the Crown court.
	As I indicated in my answer of 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 560W, over 99% of the new residential units in planning decisions notified to the Environment Agency were decided in line with their advice on flood risk.
	The National Planning Policy Framework states that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided. Local planning authorities should direct development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains, but where development is necessary, it must be demonstrated that it is safe and will not increase flood risk elsewhere. This gives councils the robust ability to reject unacceptable planning applications.
	As I explained in my answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, column 418W, there may invariably be the need for some development in flood risk areas, not least for the fact that many towns and cities are in flood risk areas. However, flood prevention measures, like robust flood and coastal defences, can make development acceptable where it would otherwise not be. For example, London is at risk of tidal flooding, as evident from the North sea floods of 1953 which inflicted immense damage on the East End of London. However, since 1983, the Thames Barrier has mitigated that risk.
	Moreover, national planning policy is clear that any new buildings that are needed in flood risk areas are appropriately flood resistant and resilient. Mitigation measures such as land raising, landscaping, raised thresholds and re-arranging the internal uses of buildings, can sometimes also make development acceptable in such areas. Such measures can be made a. requirement of any planning consent by the local authority, and such requirements are enforceable as I indicated above.

Theatres: Morecambe

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if his Department will provide funding to compensate the Grand Theatre, Morecambe for increases in the rent of their car park.

Brandon Lewis: I understand the car park may be owned by Lancaster city council. In that context, Ministers and my Department have had no role in such any decision over rents, and this is a matter that my hon. Friend may wish to take up with the council directly.
	My Department has published statutory Best Value guidance on how councils should work constructively with voluntary and community groups. This can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/best-value-statutory-guidance--4
	It notes how local authorities should actively consult and engage with the voluntary and community sector and service users, before making any decision which may have a knock-on effect on community facilities, services or the wider community.

EDUCATION

Academies

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the total cost has been of legal fees involved in the transfer of title deeds for schools from local authorities to academies to date.

Edward Timpson: We do not record the cost of legal fees incurred by local authorities and academy trusts. The Department for Education is not a party to these transactions.

Academies

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department takes to monitor the value of land sold off by academies.

Edward Timpson: Academy trusts must apply for consent from the Secretary of State to dispose of land. The application process involves following guidance and supplying information as set out on the Department for Education's website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/executiveagencies/efa/efafundingfinance/b00231497/efa-academies-capital/academypins
	One of the requirements is for the academy trust to ensure it maximises receipt value in order to reinvest in its estate, including obtaining a valuation by the district valuation officer. The estimated value of the receipt is one of the factors taken into account when considering whether to grant consent for the disposal.

Academies

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy that free schools and academies be granted discretion to give preference to children who attend their nursery classes during the admissions process for a reception place. [R]

David Laws: The chief schools adjudicator's 2013 annual report highlighted that the practice of giving preference to those attending the nursery has been found to be unfair to other local children. Ministers are therefore considering the chief schools adjudicator's recommendation that they issue further guidance for admission authorities so that there is fair access to schools for all children.

Adoption and Foster Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many applications to foster or adopt have been made by individuals with a registered disability in each of the last five years; and how many of those applications were successful.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not hold information on the number of fostering or adoption applications made by individuals with a registered disability.

Adoption and Foster Care

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department gives to local authorities and adoption agencies on the prominence given to disabilities in determining whether an applicant is fit to foster a child.

Edward Timpson: Government Guidance to local authorities and other agencies that assess the suitability of prospective foster carers is set out in the ‘Assessment and approval of foster carers: Amendments to the Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 4: Fostering Services'. When assessing a person's suitability to foster, fostering services must obtain a range of information. This information, specified in the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 as amended by the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review and Fostering Services (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2011, includes details of the applicant's health, supported by a medical report. There is no specific reference to disability.
	The National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services are clear that people who are interested in fostering should be treated fairly, without prejudice, openly and with respect. Prospective foster carers are considered in terms of their capacity to look after children in a safe and responsible way that meets the child's development needs.

Children in Care

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families of 21 January 2014, Official Report, column 275, on the Staying Put Agenda, what work is being carried out by the National Children's Bureau; and when he expects it to be completed.

Edward Timpson: The Children's Partnership, led by the National Children's Bureau, and the Who Cares? Trust, held a seminar on 24 February 2014 on the implications for children's residential care of the Staying Put foster care reforms. The seminar considered the practical and legal issues of introducing staying put arrangements in children's homes. The seminar was attended by a range of stakeholders including: care leavers; voluntary sector organisations; representatives of private children's homes; and Department for Education officials. I understand that The Children's Partnership and the Who Cares? Trust will hold further discussions with interested parties on some of the issues raised at the seminar. At this early stage, we are not yet aware of when they expect these discussions to end.

Faith Schools

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils of each ethnicity who (a) were and (b) were not eligible for free school meals attended faith (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in each year for which records are available.

David Laws: The information requested can be produced only at disproportionate cost.
	Data on the characteristics of pupils and schools are provided in the Department for Education's annual statistical release 'Schools, pupils and their characteristics'. The latest release of ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics' is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013
	The following information is published:
	1. Table 2d (national tables) shows the number of pupils in schools by the religious character of the school.
	2. Table 3a (national tables) shows the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals.
	3. Table 4a (national tables) shows the number of pupils of compulsory school age by their ethnicity.
	4. The underlying data (school level schools pupils) contains the religious character of each school that returned school census information (where applicable), the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals and an ethnic breakdown of the pupils in each school, but does not combine these factors.
	Similar data for previous years are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers

Free Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what the (a) lowest and (b) highest number of children educated in a single free school class were in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2013;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the average class size in free schools open to date.

Edward Timpson: Data on class sizes are taken from the spring school census, which records a snapshot of pupil activity at a set time on the census date. The range of activities included in the snapshot includes activities not conducted in a traditional classroom setting. Such gatherings in schools at the set time on census day range from one (small or one-to-one tuition groups) to more than 100 pupils involved in physical education activities or other gatherings outside of a traditional classroom setting.
	Further information on class sizes, including those in free schools, is provided in the publication ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2013', which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013
	Figures for January 2014 will be published in the summer.
	I provided a response to the hon. Member on the average class size in free schools open to date in my answer to question 187190, which was published on 13 February 2014, Official Report, column 820W.

Further Education: Free School Meals

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether (a) further education colleges and (b) sixth form colleges have access to the Online Free School Meal Eligibility Checking Service.

David Laws: Under the information sharing powers within section 110 of the Education Act 2005, only local authorities have direct access to the online Free School Meal Eligibility Checking Service.

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils of each ethnicity who were (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals and who did not have statements of Special Education Needs did not achieve an A* to C GCSE grade in (i) English, (ii) mathematics and (iii) either English or mathematics in the most recent year for which figures are available.

David Laws: The number and proportion of pupils of each ethnicity who were (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals and who did not have statements of Special Education Needs who did not achieve an A* to C GCSE grade in.(i) English, (ii) mathematics and (iii) either English or mathematics for 2012/13 is provided in the following tables.
	
		
			 Table 1: Achievements at GCSE1 for pupils2 who did not have a Statement of SEN at the end of key stage 4 by ethnicity and free school meal eligibility, years: 2012/2013 (revised)3, coverage: England, state-funded mainstream schools only 
			  Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 Pupils without a Statement of SEN5,6 No of eligible pupils1 No not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in English % not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in English No not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in Maths % not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in Maths No not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in either English or mathematics7 % not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in either English or mathematics7 
			 White 55,004 28,549 51.9 26,837 48.8 22,112 40.2 
			 Mixed 4,388 1,746 39.8 1,817 41.4 1,341 30.6 
			 Black 8,213 3,102 37.8 2,986 36.4 2,188 26.6 
			 Asian 10,245 3,684 36.0 3,267 31.9 2,490 24.3 
			 Chinese 163 31 19.0 16 9.8 13 8.0 
			 All pupils8 81,081 38,386 47.3 35,962 44.4 28,980 35.7 
		
	
	
		
			  All other Pupils4 
			 Pupils without a Statement of SEN5,6 No of eligible pupils1 No not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in English % not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in English No not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in Maths % not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in Maths No not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in either English or mathematics7 % not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in either English or mathematics7 
			 White 396,726 103,057 26.0 91,691 23.1 64,938 16.4 
			 Mixed 16,845 3,695 21.9 3,704 22.0 2,418 14.4 
			 Black 18,789 4,818 25.6 4,869 25.9 3,202 17.0 
			 Asian 35,937 8,988 25.0 7,040 19.6 5,166 14.4 
			 Chinese 2,072 407 19.6 108 5.2 91 4.4 
			 All pupils8 479,750 123,645 25.8 109,605 22.8 77,495 16.2 
		
	
	
		
			  All other Pupils4 
			 Pupils without a Statement of SEN5,6 No of eligible pupils1 No not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in English % not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in English No not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in Maths % not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in Maths No not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in either English or mathematics7 % not achieving A*-C GCSE grades in either English or mathematics7 
			 White 451,730 131,606 29.1 118,528 26.2 87,050 19.3 
			 Mixed 21,233 5,441 25.6 5,521 26.0 3,759 17.7 
			 Black 27,002 7,920 29.3 7,855 29.1 5,390 20.0 
			 Asian 46,182 12,672 27.4 10,307 22.3 7,656 16.6 
			 Chinese 2,235 438 19.6 124 5.5 104 4.7 
			 All pupils8 560,831 162,031 28.9 145,567 26.0 106,475 19.0 
			 1 Full GCSEs only have been included (Full GCSEs, double awards, International GCSE, Cambridge International Certificate and Edexcel Level 1/2 Certificate and AS levels). 2 Pupils at the end of key stage 4 in each academic year. 3 Figures for 2012/13 are based on revised data. 4 Includes pupils not eligible for free school meals and pupils for whom free school meal eligibility was unclassified or could not be determined. 5 Includes pupils for whom SEN provision could not be determined. 6 Includes pupils with no identified SEN, SEN pupils without a statement (classified as School Action or School Action plus) and unclassified pupils. 7 Only includes pupils who did not achieve an A*-C in both subjects. 8 Includes pupils for whom ethnicity was not obtained, refused or could not be determined. Source: Key Stage 4 attainment data (2012/13)

Primary Education

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which primary schools offer nursery provision on or off site; and which of those schools have been rated outstanding by Ofsted.

Elizabeth Truss: This is a matter for Ofsted. I have asked Her Majesty's Chief Inspector to write to my hon. Friend and a copy of his response will be placed in the House Libraries.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average daily number of children absent from school is; and what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for their non-attendance.

Elizabeth Truss: The requested information has been provided in the following table.
	Figures for 2009-10 have been provided for context. Between 2009/10 and 2012/13, the number of absent pupils each day has fallen from 378,340 to 334,340, of which unauthorised absence has fallen from 63,505 to 60,405.
	
		
			 State-funded primary and secondary schools1, 2, 3: Average4 number of pupil enrolments absent on a school day by reason. Autumn term 2012 and spring term 2013. England 
			  State-funded primary schools1, 2 State-funded secondary schools1, 3 State-funded primary and secondary schools1, 2, 3 
			 Number of pupil enrolments5 3,499,382 2,831,009 6,330,391 
			     
			 Number of pupils absent by reason    
			 Total overall absence 166,650 165,570 334,340 
			 Illness (not medical or dental appointments) 111,325 99,770 211,135 
			 Medical/dental appointments 8,455 10,955 19,425 
			 Religious observance 1,320 815 2,135 
			 Study leave 5 435 440 
			 Traveller absence 505 170 675 
			 Agreed family holiday 12,625 4,145 16,740 
			 Agreed extended family holiday 260 60 320 
			 Excluded, no alternative provision 515 3,165 3,690 
			 Other authorised circumstances 8,365 10,180 18,560 
			 Unclassified6 240 575 815 
			 Total authorised absence 143,610 130,270 273,940 
			     
			 Family holiday not agreed 6,530 4,150 10,675 
			 Arrived late 2,150 1,755 3,905 
			 Other unauthorised circumstances 13,465 25,255 38,780 
			 No reason yet 2,845 4,020 6,875 
			 Unclassified6 50 120 165 
			 Total unauthorised absence 25,040 35,300 60,405 
			 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. 2 Includes all primary academies, including free schools. 3 Includes city technology colleges and all secondary academies, including free schools. 4 The average has been calculated by dividing the absence rate by 100 and multiplying by the number of pupil enrolments. 5 Includes pupils aged 5 to 15 who were on roll for at least one session between 1 September and the end of the Spring term each year, even if they are no 6 Includes absence returned as either authorised or unauthorised totals but not broken down by reason. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component part because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5. Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			 Maintained primary and state-funded secondary schools1, 2: Average3 number of pupil enrolments absent on a school day by reason. Autumn 2009 and spring 2010 terms. England 
			  Maintained primary schools1 State-funded secondary schools1, 2 Total1, 2 
			 Number of pupil enrolments4 3,344,410 2,920,590 6,265,000 
			     
			 Absence rates by reason    
			 Total Overall Absence 178,600 199,680 378,340 
			 Illness (not medical or dental appointments) 111,940 116,835 228,805 
			 Medical/dental, appointments 8,535 12,080 20,625 
			 Religious observance 3,015 1,755 4,770 
			 Study leave 15 905 920 
			 Traveller absence 580 210 785 
			 Agreed family holiday 16,720 6,995 23,705 
			 Agreed extended family holiday 560 135 690 
			 Excluded, no alternative provision 535 4,425 4,965 
			 Other authorised circumstances 13,525 14,880 28,410 
			 Unclassified5 595 565 1,165 
			 Total Authorised Absence 156,025 158,780 314,835 
			     
			 Family holiday not agreed 4,160 3,545 7,705 
			 Arrived late 2,010 2,200 4,210 
			 Other unauthorised circumstances 12,465 27,850 40,340 
			 No reason yet 3,885 7,120 11,010 
			 Unclassified5 55 180 240 
		
	
	
		
			 Total Unauthorised Absence 22,575 40,695 63,505 
			 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. 2 Includes maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). 3 The average has been calculated by dividing the absence rate by 100 and multiplying by the number of pupil enrolments. 4 Includes pupils aged 5 to 15 who were on roll for at least one session between 1 September and the end of the Spring term each year, even if they are no longer on the school roll, excluding boarders. Some pupils may be counted more than once (if they moved schools during the two terms or are registered in more than one school). 5 Includes absence returned as either authorised or unauthorised totals but not broken down by reason. Note: Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component part because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5. Source: School Census

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2013, Official Report, column 1158W, on pupils: disadvantaged, how many secondary school students sitting GCSEs were eligible for free schools meals in 2012-13; what number and proportion of such students were entered for the EBacc suite of subjects; how many and what proportion of such students achieved grades A* to C in EBacc subjects in 2012-13; and what proportion of such students entered for the EBacc achieved the required grades.

David Laws: In 2012/13, the number of pupils eligible for free school meals at the end of key stage 4 was 85,182.
	The following table provides information on the number and percentage of pupils who were entered for and achieved the EBacc qualification by free school meal eligibility in 2012/13. The table also shows the number and percentage of pupils who achieved an A*-C in each of the EBacc subjects by free school meal eligibility.
	
		
			 Pupils1 achieving the English Baccalaureate at the end of key stage 4 by pupils eligible for free school meals. Year: 2011/12 (final) to 2012/13 (revised)2. Coverage: England, state-funded schools (including academies and CTCs) 
			  Number of eligible pupils1 Number of pupils entering the English Baccalaureate Percentage of pupils entering the English Baccalaureate Number of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate Percentage of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate Of those entering the percentage of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate 
			 2012/13       
			 FSM 85,182 15,527 18.2 7,508 8.8 48.4 
			 All other pupils3 486,152 187,045 38.5 122,635 25.2 65.6 
			 All pupils4 571,334 202,572 35.5 130,143 22.8 64.2 
			        
			 2011/12       
			 FSM 80,194 7,345 9.2 4,047 5.0 55.1 
			 All other pupils3 481,111 122,272 25.4 86,630 18.0 70.9 
			 All pupils4 561,305 129,617 23.1 90,677 16.2 70.0 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of pupils achieving the components of the English Baccalaureate: 
			  English Mathematics Sciences History or Geography Languages 
			 2012/13      
			 FSM 40,105 42,687 21,328 16,634 14,907 
			 All other pupils3 349,949 364,626 253,357 214,116 173,863 
			 All pupils4 390,054 407,313 274,685 230,750 188,770 
			       
			 2011/12      
			 FSM 36,290 38,479 20,098 11,572 10,866 
			 All other pupils3 338,094 350,694 249,981 176,468 143,611 
			 All pupils4 374,384 389,173 270,079 188,040 154,477 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of pupils achieving the components of the English Baccalaureate: 
			  English Mathematics Sciences History or Geography Languages 
			 2012/13      
			 FSM 47.1 50.1 25.0 19.5 17.5 
			 All other pupils3 72.0 75.0 52.1 44.0 35.8 
			 All pupils4 68.3 71.3 48.1 40.4 33.0 
			       
			 2011/12      
			 FSM 45.3 48.0 25.1 14.4 13.5 
			 All other pupils3 70.3 72.9 52.0 36.7 29.8 
		
	
	
		
			 All pupils4 66.7 69.3 48.1 33.5 27.5 
			 1 Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in each academic year. 2 From 2009/10 iGCSEs, accredited at time of publication, have been counted as GCSE equivalents and also as English and mathematics GCSEs. 3 Includes pupils not eligible for free school meals and for whom free school meal eligibility was unclassified or could not be determined. 4 Includes pupils for whom free school meal eligibility could not be determined. Source: National pupil database (2011/12), Key Stage 4 attainment data (2012/13).

Schools: Finance

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 535W, on schools: finance, when he plans to publish the consultation on a fair funding formula; and what the timetable for the consultation will be.

David Laws: Following the Chancellor's announcement in June, we expect to announce the next steps, including the timetable, within the next few weeks.

Schools: Land

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department takes to monitor the whereabouts of title deeds for schools in the UK.

Edward Timpson: We do not hold central records for title deeds; they are the responsibility of the organisation that holds the title to the land on which schools are situated. Title deeds for local authority maintained schools will be held by each local authority. The deeds for an academy's land interest (usually a long lease) are held by each academy trust and sometimes also the local authority or diocese freeholder of the land.

Social Workers: Crimes of Violence

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department issues to local authority social services departments on preventing violence and other abusive behaviour against social workers in the course of their work.

Edward Timpson: Ensuring the safety of social workers is the responsibility of local authorities as their employers. The Department for Education issues no guidance as to how those responsibilities should be undertaken.

Special Educational Needs

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what monitoring procedures his Department has in place to ensure that assessment of pupils' special needs are accurate.

Edward Timpson: Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that assessments of special educational needs (SEN) are accurate, having regard to the statutory guidance provided in the SEN Code of Practice.
	If local authorities carry out an assessment but do not issue an SEN statement, parents can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) against their decision. Parents can also appeal to the tribunal if the local authority issues a statement following an assessment but the parents do not believe that it accurately reflects their child's SEN or are unhappy with the SEN provision specified in it.
	SEN statements will be replaced by Education, Health and Care plans following the Children and Families Bill, and these rights of appeal will be maintained and extended to young people.
	The Department for Education recently consulted publicly on a draft SEN Code of Practice (the draft is available from the consultation pages of the GOV.UK website). The draft code includes detailed guidance on how and when to carry out an education, health and care assessment.
	Revisions are being made to the draft code to take account of developments during the passage of the Children and Families Bill and responses to the consultation, which came from a wide range of organisations in the statutory and voluntary and community sectors, including those in the SEN and disability field. We will continue to work with those who must have regard to the Code of Practice, and with those who support children, young people and families, as this is taken forward. Once this work is completed, a revised Code of Practice will be placed before both Houses of Parliament for approval.

Teachers: Training

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria are used to decide on the level of bursaries offered to (a) trainee religious education teachers and (b) teachers who specialise in other subjects.

David Laws: The criteria used to decide the level of bursaries offered to trainee teachers are consistent across all subjects. Bursaries for initial teacher training (ITT) are designed to incentivise application to ITT courses. Decisions are therefore informed by the number of applicants a subject receives, as well as final recruitment levels. Other factors such as longer-term recruitment patterns and any observable trends are also taken into account.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Infant Mortality

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to provide better healthcare and more trained midwives to reduce the deaths of new born babies in the poorest countries; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK Government is making newborn health a priority and has committed to save 250,000 newborn lives by 2015. We recognise that this requires the presence of skilled attendants at birth—in different countries these may be midwives, nurses, doctors or other skilled medical personnel—and we are funding programmes to increase the numbers and availability of these health workers. Further, we have supported the development of the Every Newborn Action Plan, which will be launched later this year and will provide concrete recommendations to enable all countries to reduce newborn deaths.
	We fully recognise the importance of midwives and other health workers as a critical intervention. We also believe that goals or targets around maternal and newborn health should measure outcomes, such as reductions in mortality, rather than processes, to ensure that the impact of quality is also captured.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many pagers have been provided to staff by her Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers.

Alan Duncan: Eight pagers were provided to staff in the DFID Press Office during the period May 2010 through to August 2013; the pagers are no longer in use. The cost of providing these pagers was £2,376 per year.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many pagers have been provided to staff by her Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers.

Karen Bradley: The number of pagers that have been provided to staff in the Home Department with a start date of May 2010 and that are still active is 13. The monthly billing charge is £4.13 per pager.

Staff

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) permanent staff and (b) staff employed by a contractor are employed by her Department at the (i) permanent migration office, Liverpool, (ii) temporary migration office, Sheffield and (iii) older live cases unit, Liverpool in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire: The number of permanent staff and staff employed by a contractor employed by the Home Department at the permanent migration office, Liverpool, the temporary migration office, Sheffield and the older live cases unit, Liverpool is set out in Table 1. These figures are provided for each year since 2010 with the exception of the older live cases unit where work force numbers were not recorded centrally until 2012.
	The increase in contractor employed staff from 2013 is due to additional temporary staff being deployed to reduce backlogs inherited from the previous administration and improve service standards. This has also coincided with a period when work has been relocated from Croydon to Liverpool and Sheffield.
	
		
			 Table 1 
			 Month/year Department Town Paid CS FTE Paid Non CS FTE (Agency) 
			 31 March 2010 Permanent Migration Liverpool 636.1 0.0 
			  Temp Migr and Sponsorship Sheffield 995.7 35.0 
			 31 March 2011 Permanent Migration Liverpool 660.2 0.0 
			  Temp Migr and Sponsorship Sheffield 823.7 0.0 
			 31 March 2012 Older Live Cases Liverpool 143.3 0.0 
			  Permanent Migration Liverpool 642.3 0.0 
			  Temp Migr and Sponsorship Sheffield 898.9 0.0 
			 31 March 2013 Older Live Cases Liverpool 104.7 82.0 
			  Permanent Migration Liverpool 618.4 251.6 
			  Temp Migr and Sponsorship Sheffield 794.2 448.4 
			 31 January 2014 Older Live Cases Liverpool 122.3 144.1 
			  Permanent Migration Liverpool 582.0 251.9 
			  Temp Migr and Sponsorship Sheffield 737.3 419.7 
			 Key: CS = Civil Servant FTE = Full Time Equivalent

Staff

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the overtime costs paid to permanent staff in the (a) permanent migration office, Liverpool, (b) temporary migration office, Sheffield and (c) older live cases unit, Liverpool in the last year.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office can only provide information specific to these offices by cross referencing two sets of data and to do this would incur disproportionate cost.

Stephen Lawrence

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Ellison Review will be published.

Damian Green: The report of the Stephen Lawrence independent review was published on Thursday 6 March.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Electricity: Manufacturing Industries

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the incidence and impact of load management measures on manufacturing industry.

Michael Fallon: The Department has made no such assessment. The current electricity market regime enables large users of electricity to negotiate rates which reflect their usage and the time at which they use it. There is a competitive market for ancillary services in which large energy users can also participate including demand side measures. These are commercial decisions for individual companies.

Energy: Conservation

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department plans to take to ensure energy companies meet the targets agreed with his Department for spending on efficiency schemes and reducing fuel poverty.

Gregory Barker: The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is an energy efficiency programme that was introduced into Great Britain at the beginning of 2013. It places legal obligations on the larger energy suppliers (known as 'obligated suppliers') to deliver energy efficiency measures to domestic energy users.
	While action to ensure compliance with their legal obligations is a matter for energy companies, the Government is undertaking a range of actions to help facilitate delivery of ECO and is keeping risks and issues under close review.
	Furthermore, the Government has published a consultation document which sets out proposed changes to ECO and this will be accompanied by a number of consultation events taking place across the country throughout March.

Energy: Meters

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what criteria his Department used in its choice of ZigBee wireless standard for the UK's smart meter roll-out.

Michael Fallon: The Department used the following criteria, which were subject to public consultation in summer 2012, to determine which wireless standards should be used in the GB smart metering roll-out:
	Is the standard developed, maintained and made available in an open manner;
	Does the standard support the minimum functionalities required for GB smart meters;
	Does the standard provide an appropriate equipment assurance regime; and
	Has the standard been implemented in other jurisdictions and is there capacity for it to be delivered at scale and in time to support the roll-out of smart metering in GB.
	The Government proposal to use ZigBee as a wireless standard for GB smart metering, which was part of the public consultation in summer 2012, was widely supported by the energy industry.

Energy: Meters

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of smart meters currently in use which do not meet Ofgem's regulations on smart meters.

Michael Fallon: DECC releases statistics on a quarterly basis which detail meter installations by the larger energy suppliers. For the purposes of statistical reporting, smart meters are defined as those that are, or are expected to be, compliant with the technical specifications (SMETS) defined by Government to support the smart meter roll-out.
	At the end of quarter 3, 2013, a total of 200,400 smart meters had been installed in domestic properties by the larger energy suppliers. A further 900 smart meters and 507,600 advanced meters, which meet supplier roll-out obligations, had been installed in smaller non-domestic sites.
	Energy suppliers have indicated that most, if not all, of the smart meters currently installed in domestic and smaller non-domestic properties will need to receive updates, which are expected to be delivered remotely, before they are fully compliant with the Smart Metering Technical Specifications.

Energy: Meters

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the cost of a smart meter which is compliant with government regulations.

Michael Fallon: As reflected in the Smart Metering Impact Assessment published in January 2014, the estimated cost for a smart electricity meter is £43.60, with the cost estimate for a smart gas meter being £57.20:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meter-roll-out-for-the-domestic-and-small-and-medium-non-domestic-sectors-gb-impact-assessment

Energy: Meters

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the total cost of the roll-out of smart meters to the year 2020.

Michael Fallon: The Smart Meter Impact Assessment considers a period up to 2030 reflecting that some benefits will only be realised in full once the roll-out has been completed in 2020 and assets installed during the roll-out will still have value beyond that date. Over the period up to 2030 total costs are expected to be £10.9 billion, with total benefits of £17.1 billion, resulting in a net benefits of £6.2 billion:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meter-roll-out-for-the-domestic-and-small-and-medium-non-domestic-sectors-gb-impact-assessment

Energy: Meters

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which smart phones are compatible with the UK-regulated smart meters.

Michael Fallon: The Government has not undertaken an assessment of which smart phones are compatible with smart meters.
	However, there are numerous ways in which the market may develop so that smart metering services or data could be made available, with consumers' consent, across a number of platforms, including smart phones. GB smart metering will support such innovation through the services provided by the DCC and by the potential to connect consumer access devices to smart meters in consumer premises, which could in turn be connected to smart phones or other platforms.

Flood Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will take steps to give priority to both adaptation and mitigation in his Department's flood prevention programmes to help society cope with climate change.

Dan Rogerson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	We already prioritise the need to adapt to our changing climate across government and well beyond.
	In July 2013 DEFRA published a National Adaptation Programme report which sets out a wide range of actions to address the most significant climate risks we face as a country. The report focuses on helping UK businesses, local authorities and civil society to become more resilient or 'Climate Ready' to climate change impacts such as flooding.
	The National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England sets out how flooding and coastal erosion risk is being managed to both adapt to and mitigate the risks of climate change. DEFRA's policy clearly states that when appraising flood management options the risks over the whole life of a policy or project should be taken into account, including any impact of climate change. The Environment Agency has provided detailed guidance on how this is to be done by authorities seeking DEFRA flood defence grant in aid.

Offshore Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on implementation of the competent authority model of regulating the offshore oil and gas industry required by the EU offshore safety directive.

Michael Fallon: The Department, along with the Health and Safety Executive, Maritime Coastguard Agency and DEFRA, are currently considering how best to implement the requirements of the EU offshore safety directive, including the creation of a competent authority for offshore activities. A public consultation covering the UK Government's proposals for implementing the directive will be carried out in the summer.

Offshore Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the current status is of the memorandum of understanding agreed in 2012 between his Department and the Health and Safety Executive on the co-ordination of their respective regulatory roles in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Michael Fallon: The memorandum of understanding has been further developed by the addition of annexes which outline the working arrangements between HSE and DECC for the undertaking of visits to offshore installations and onshore premises to regulate against the provisions of their separate regulations and jurisdictions.
	The annexes cover:
	Joint Drilling Strategy
	Joint Inspection and Investigation
	Assessment and Review of Regulatory Submissions:
	well notifications;
	pipelines;
	permissioning of installations and approval of Field Development Plans; and decommissioning.
	Monitoring of upstream oil and gas industry, activities and trends:
	sharing statistics on Hydrocarbon release; and
	sharing of incident data/enforcement activity of relevance to respective regulatory body
	Disclosure of Information.
	The memorandum of understanding is available using the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48225/3516-mou-decc-hse-ukcs.pdf

Offshore Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment has been made of the potential effect of the recommendations of the interim report of the UK Continental Shelf Maximising Recovery Review on his Department's (a) regulatory role in the offshore oil and gas industry and (b) work implementing the recommendations of the Maitland Review.

Michael Fallon: The Government welcomes the Final UKCS Maximising Recovery Review Report, launched on 24 February 2014. We are grateful to Sir Ian and his review team for the work they have done, and to all those who contributed to the report. The Government accepts Sir Ian's recommendations, including the key message that Government should work with industry to develop a cohesive tripartite approach for maximising economic recovery for the UK. We will develop detailed implementation plans and publish a fuller formal response later in the spring.
	The Maitland Review was tasked to carry out a review of the UK oil and gas regulatory regime against the issues and recommendations emerging from the key investigations into the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico and other relevant reviews. The review focused on the safety and environmental regime. The report from the Maitland Review was published in December 2011 and, as detailed in the update to the formal government response, published in December 2013, the majority of the recommendations have now been fully implemented. A small number have not been implemented either because an alternative approach has been adopted or the recommendation has been overtaken by the EU offshore safety directive.
	The interim report of the UK Continental Shelf Maximising Recovery Review did not have an impact on this work because safety and environmental issues did not form part of the remit for that review and the Maitland recommendations had been considered and implemented before the interim report was published.

Offshore Oil and Gas in the UK Review

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which recommendations of the Maitland Review into Offshore Oil and Gas in the UK have not been implemented due to the publication of the EU offshore safety directive.

Michael Fallon: Details of the recommendations from the Maitland Review, which have not been implemented due to the publication of the EU offshore safety directive, are fully detailed in the update to the formal government response to the Maitland Review, which was published on 13 December 2013 and can be found on the following web-link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265799/update_government _response_independent_review_regulatory_regime.pdf
	The relevant areas are the development of an Environmental Assurance Plan concept, a mechanism to bring capping devices under the jurisdiction of the regulatory regime and more formal mechanisms to ensure seamless, strategic and coordinated working between the regulatory authorities. There are other areas where recommendations have been implemented, but which will also be impacted by the offshore safety directive such as the reporting and sharing of information from offshore incidents and environmental damage and liability.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many pagers have been provided to staff by his Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has not provided any pagers to staff since May 2010.

Renewable Energy

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make it his policy to remove Government subsidies from renewable energy generating plants once the plant has achieved a reasonable return on investment.

Michael Fallon: The Government is committed to cost-effective, affordable, renewable energy as part of a diverse, low carbon and secure energy mix. Our ultimate aim is for renewables to become competitive without the need for support. Support levels under the renewables obligation and proposed contracts for difference are set so that they decrease over time as technology improves and plants become more competitive with fossil fuel generation. For smaller scale renewable generation under the feed-in tariffs scheme, we introduced in 2012 an extra cost control measure, contingent degression, in order to exert a continual downward pressure on tariffs and therefore costs.

Wind Power

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of years it will take for (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind to be economically competitive without subsidies; and pursuant to the written statement of 6 June 2013, Official Report, columns 115-18WS, on onshore wind, what the evidential basis is for the statement that support levels represent good value for money to the taxpayer and that they reflect the true costs of deploying the technologies.

Michael Fallon: The Department has a strong focus on incentivising reductions in the cost of renewable technologies.
	The level of support awarded under the renewables obligation and contracts for difference has been set based on the best available evidence on costs of renewable technologies in the UK; and at a level that remains within the budgetary constraints set through the Levy Control Framework (LCF).
	DECC publishes levelised costs estimates of various generation technologies. The levelised cost of a particular generation technology is the ratio of the total costs of a generic plant to the total amount of electricity expected to be generated over the plant's lifetime (per megawatt hour). The latest published figures are available:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-generation-costs-december-2013
	The figures in the report show that the levelised cost of onshore wind and offshore wind are expected to fall over time. This is reflected in the support levels that we offer under renewables obligation, which were reduced by 10% for onshore wind in April 2013. DECC undertook a call for evidence on onshore wind costs in 2013 which concluded that this reduced support rate remained appropriate.
	These cost reductions are also reflected in the strike prices for these technologies in the EMR Delivery Plan, which shows support falling for a number of technologies over the coming years. Under the CfD, it is our intention that established technologies (such as onshore wind) will have to compete on price in an auction in order to secure a contract for support. This means that only the most cost-effective projects will be built and will represent better value for money for bill-payers, while continuing to deliver the investment we need in secure, low-carbon electricity generation.

Wind Power

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of overall savings in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 as a result of (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind turbines; and what level of emissions will be emitted from the gas plants required for intermittent backup to such turbines in that period.

Michael Fallon: The level of carbon dioxide emissions savings by 2020 from different renewable technologies will depend on the future level of deployment of each technology. The level of generation delivered by any technology in the future is uncertain as it depends on a range of factors; for example, future technology costs. Based on the deployment scenarios underpinning the DECC Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan
	1
	, we estimate that between 2013 and 2020, generation from onshore wind could save between around 72-80 MtC02 (around 11-13MtC02 in 2020), and generation from offshore wind could save between around 44-56MtC02 (around 8-15MtC02 in 2020). These figures are an undiscounted sum of annual estimates of carbon dioxide emissions savings between 2013 and 2020 (with estimated annual carbon dioxide emissions savings in 2020 presented in brackets). These figures assume that in the absence of wind, generation would come from CCGT plants (in addition to their other functions in the power sector, including providing intermittent backup where required).
	1 Estimates of wind generation and CCGT emissions are taken from scenarios modelled for the Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan (please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-market-reform-delivery-plan). Estimates for onshore wind include both large and small scale.

JUSTICE

Claims Management Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to protect those who are misled by claims management companies about how much they can claim in respect of PPI mis-selling.

Shailesh Vara: During 2013, the Claims Management Regulator stepped up enforcement action, with 347 claims management companies (CMCs) warned, suspended or cancelled and 194 investigated or audited. The Claims Management Regulator is also implementing a number of steps to provide better consumer protection, stricter conduct rules and stronger enforcement in relation to CMCs which engage in bad practices. New rules have been introduced to permit only written contracts between CMCs and consumers, stopping any fees being charged before the contracts are signed. More resources have been deployed to improve CMC compliance and to expand enforcement action against those CMCs which fail to comply. The names of CMCs under investigation or subject to recent enforcement action are now published on the Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/claims-regulation/enforcement
	By the end of this year, subject to parliamentary approval, CMCs will also, for the first time, face fines for poor conduct and the conduct rules will be strengthened further to put a greater onus on CMCs to ensure claims are not made recklessly, falsely or in a way intended to mislead, and to properly substantiate and investigate those claims.

Convictions

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were convicted for each category of conviction used by the Crown Court relating to financial gain in each (a) county and (b) other area for which figures are available in the last year.

Shailesh Vara: Our ability to tackle fraud has improved significantly in recent years, but we recognise that fraud continues to affect individuals, charities, public bodies and businesses. The Government is committed to working with those bodies to deter and prevent fraud and with the enforcement agencies to increase the disruption and punishment of organised and opportunistic fraudsters.
	The number of persons convicted at the Crown court for acquisitive or fraud and forgery offences, by police force area in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2012, can be viewed in the table. The proportion of persons convicted and sentenced at the Crown court who were sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence has increased over the last three years for each of the four acquisitive or fraud and forgery offence groups, as has the average length of custodial sentence handed down to those offenders.
	Convictions data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.
	
		
			 Persons1 convicted at the Crown court for acquisitive2 or fraud and forgery offences, by offence group, 2008 to 2012, England and Wales 
			 Number of offenders 
			 Police force area Offence type 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Avon and Somerset Total number convicted 531 486 576 606 552 
			  Burglary 157 167 172 193 205 
			  Robbery 141 123 152 149 132 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 140 119 148 162 122 
			  Fraud and forgery 93 77 104 102 93 
			        
			 Bedfordshire Total number convicted 248 305 327 320 247 
			  Burglary 59 81 76 99 88 
			  Robbery 72 81 97 82 62 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 52 66 70 79 45 
			  Fraud and forgery 65 77 84 60 52 
			        
			 Cambridgeshire Total number convicted 256 291 294 348 294 
			  Burglary 77 98 94 129 127 
			  Robbery 57 64 57 80 50 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 56 85 69 79 78 
			  Fraud and forgery 66 44 74 60 39 
		
	
	
		
			        
			 Cheshire Total number convicted 359 357 296 334 318 
			  Burglary 131 110 123 139 125 
			  Robbery 76 86 29 66 59 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 92 104 85 81 87 
			  Fraud and forgery 60 57 59 48 47 
			        
			 City of London Total number convicted 64 95 89 31 18 
			  Burglary 1 3 — 1 — 
			  Robbery 3 4 5 — — 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 18 37 29 8 5 
			  Fraud and forgery 42 51 55 22 13 
			        
			 Cleveland Total number convicted 348 354 329 363 283 
			  Burglary 131 135 129 141 126 
			  Robbery 73 68 58 80 55 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 103 92 104 91 70 
			  Fraud and forgery 41 59 38 51 32 
			        
			 Cumbria Total number convicted 155 161 167 236 163 
			  Burglary 48 52 45 76 59 
			  Robbery 15 28 24 33 21 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 59 56 59 77 46 
			  Fraud and forgery 33 25 39 50 37 
			        
			 Derbyshire Total number convicted 347 377 375 453 378 
			  Burglary 95 112 106 136 136 
			  Robbery 96 89 96 120 75 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 101 115 111 119 108 
			  Fraud and forgery 55 61 62 78 59 
			        
			 Devon and Cornwall Total number convicted 366 452 445 454 397 
			  Burglary 125 117 145 146 142 
			  Robbery 52 98 61 77 61 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 121 143 125 141 110 
			  Fraud and forgery 68 94 114 90 84 
			        
			 Dorset Total number convicted 166 212 221 179 158 
			  Burglary 40 52 90 51 57 
			  Robbery 34 38 28 27 29 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 44 55 51 50 37 
			  Fraud and forgery 48 67 52 51 35 
			        
			 Durham Total number convicted 258 311 281 245 265 
			  Burglary 92 115 123 89 108 
			  Robbery 46 43 32 47 39 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 77 92 86 80 67 
			  Fraud and forgery 43 61 40 29 51 
			        
			 Dyfed-Powys Total number convicted 90 63 64 90 74 
			  Burglary 29 28 24 36 32 
			  Robbery 20 8 9 17 9 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 21 21 20 26 17 
			  Fraud and forgery 20 6 11 11 16 
		
	
	
		
			        
			 Essex Total number convicted 648 793 746 808 665 
			  Burglary 130 161 139 236 208 
			  Robbery 104 139 98 120 97 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 173 215 241 261 206 
			  Fraud and forgery 241 278 268 191 154 
			        
			 Gloucestershire Total number convicted 185 155 166 165 165 
			  Burglary 49 56 57 59 61 
			  Robbery 47 28 29 25 34 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 61 44 46 53 38 
			  Fraud and forgery 28 27 34 28 32 
			        
			 Greater Manchester Total number convicted 1,861 1,878 1,978 1,910 1,611 
			  Burglary 548 524 604 606 521 
			  Robbery 474 458 489 450 409 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 414 464 498 562 437 
			  Fraud and forgery 425 432 387 292 244 
			        
			 Gwent Total number convicted 122 131 175 176 184 
			  Burglary 56 60 63 85 79 
			  Robbery 30 19 38 34 37 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 19 22 42 32 40 
			  Fraud and forgery 17 30 32 25 28 
			        
			 Hampshire Total number convicted 528 625 663 658 665 
			  Burglary 134 220 200 222 236 
			  Robbery 109 100 115 115 105 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 155 183 220 216 206 
			  Fraud and forgery 130 122 128 105 118 
			        
			 Hertfordshire Total number convicted 360 399 504 526 489 
			  Burglary 82 82 118 130 144 
			  Robbery 85 76 86 84 107 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 107 133 165 186 146 
			  Fraud and forgery 86 108 135 126 92 
			        
			 Humberside Total number convicted 437 510 507 535 391 
			  Burglary 164 208 191 226 154 
			  Robbery 109 110 91 92 91 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 113 124 152 165 109 
			  Fraud and forgery 51 68 73 52 37 
			        
			 Kent Total number convicted 689 753 757 720 556 
			  Burglary 157 173 174 201 151 
			  Robbery 98 107 105 117 83 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 165 190 214 211 158 
			  Fraud and forgery 269 283 264 191 164 
			        
			 Lancashire Total number convicted 723 776 822 874 817 
			  Burglary 277 304 336 335 371 
			  Robbery 177 162 128 196 172 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 180 204 238 217 201 
			  Fraud and forgery 89 106 120 126 73 
		
	
	
		
			        
			 Leicestershire Total number convicted 401 418 454 553 447 
			  Burglary 89 102 154 166 140 
			  Robbery 78 69 71 126 113 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 101 111 112 158 120 
			  Fraud and forgery 133 136 117 103 74 
			        
			 Lincolnshire Total number convicted 151 185 187 200 174 
			  Burglary 62 67 77 65 61 
			  Robbery 25 34 27 46 34 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 29 47 59 57 61 
			  Fraud and forgery 35 37 24 32 18 
			        
			 Merseyside Total number convicted 591 684 718 688 633 
			  Burglary 153 197 196 228 211 
			  Robbery 124 123 133 164 133 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 161 192 207 132 155 
			  Fraud and forgery 153 172 182 164 134 
			        
			 Metropolitan Police Total number convicted 5,982 5,972 6,532 6,893 6,407 
			  Burglary 1,050 1,053 1,213 1,390 1,519 
			  Robbery 1,398 1,325 1,408 1,567 1,520 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 1,293 1,425 1,720 1,855 1,596 
			  Fraud and forgery 2,241 2,169 2,191 2,081 1,772 
			        
			 Norfolk Total number convicted 277 331 330 331 283 
			  Burglary 69 86 89 86 107 
			  Robbery 44 50 48 51 42 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 90 123 126 130 85 
			  Fraud and forgery 74 72 67 64 49 
			        
			 North Wales Total number convicted 194 214 185 207 284 
			  Burglary 81 75 72 77 106 
			  Robbery 26 39 30 37 57 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 34 44 46 46 70 
			  Fraud and forgery 53 56 37 47 51 
			        
			 North Yorkshire Total number convicted 189 239 248 303 238 
			  Burglary 54 56 96 96 91 
			  Robbery 17 40 27 40 37 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 75 103 95 106 69 
			  Fraud and forgery 43 40 30 61 41 
			        
			 Northamptonshire Total number convicted 277 289 325 295 255 
			  Burglary 56 73 110 80 69 
			  Robbery 75 67 67 62 51 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 77 75 105 81 82 
			  Fraud and forgery 69 74 43 72 53 
			        
			 Northumbria Total number convicted 711 816 800 813 679 
			  Burglary 208 244 272 268 252 
			  Robbery 100 142 107 112 119 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 260 264 283 276 182 
			  Fraud and forgery 143 166 138 157 126 
		
	
	
		
			        
			 Nottinghamshire Total number convicted 578 520 608 589 569 
			  Burglary 228 188 238 217 232 
			  Robbery 134 148 129 142 136 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 123 96 136 148 107 
			  Fraud and forgery 93 88 105 82 94 
			        
			 South Wales Total number convicted 607 601 677 641 632 
			  Burglary 260 248 318 301 286 
			  Robbery 131 127 144 138 111 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 134 133 129 112 144 
			  Fraud and forgery 82 93 86 90 91 
			        
			 South Yorkshire Total number convicted 708 736 818 695 572 
			  Burglary 225 230 247 240 223 
			  Robbery 143 158 144 145 120 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 145 189 284 206 173 
			  Fraud and forgery 195 159 143 104 56 
			        
			 Staffordshire Total number convicted 412 436 434 397 393 
			  Burglary 120 128 132 129 138 
			  Robbery 69 102 90 80 78 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 107 85 114 105 96 
			  Fraud and forgery 116 121 98 83 81 
			        
			 Suffolk Total number convicted 172 182 224 176 194 
			  Burglary 29 42 64 52 48 
			  Robbery 33 30 41 27 56 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 48 67 61 55 50 
			  Fraud and forgery 62 43 58 42 40 
			        
			 Surrey Total number convicted 273 319 331 321 285 
			  Burglary 58 71 66 98 92 
			  Robbery 42 64 70 38 44 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 85 99 104 112 92 
			  Fraud and forgery 88 85 91 73 57 
			        
			 Sussex Total number convicted 692 744 622 606 466 
			  Burglary 134 179 146 188 161 
			  Robbery 97 141 128 110 85 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 155 153 168 154 103 
			  Fraud and forgery 306 271 180 154 117 
			        
			 Thames Valley Total number convicted 751 763 855 869 766 
			  Burglary 201 179 251 263 266 
			  Robbery 177 199 196 201 177 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 160 208 215 244 209 
			  Fraud and forgery 213 177 193 161 114 
			        
			 Warwickshire Total number convicted 116 109 150 139 181 
			  Burglary 29 50 48 49 51 
			  Robbery 35 23 33 33 30 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 21 20 51 40 59 
			  Fraud and forgery 31 16 18 17 41 
		
	
	
		
			        
			 West Mercia Total number convicted 267 308 434 370 313 
			  Burglary 90 94 154 140 110 
			  Robbery 46 61 71 69 73 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 64 77 140 94 72 
			  Fraud and forgery 67 76 69 67 58 
			        
			 West Midlands Total number convicted 1,733 1,691 1,656 1,871 1,720 
			  Burglary 447 468 419 535 557 
			  Robbery 544 534 504 614 568 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 382 360 386 379 386 
			  Fraud and forgery 360 329 347 343 209 
			        
			 West Yorkshire Total number convicted 1,190 1,304 1,545 1,632 1,258 
			  Burglary 401 481 560 644 451 
			  Robbery 320 316 320 322 333 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 289 322 459 413 323 
			  Fraud and forgery 180 185 206 253 151 
			        
			 Wiltshire Total number convicted 125 134 147 144 141 
			  Burglary 24 34 52 39 38 
			  Robbery 39 46 29 41 39 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 39 23 33 38 36 
			  Fraud and forgery 23 31 33 26 28 
			        
			        
			 England and Wales Total number convicted 25,138 26,479 28,062 28,764 25,580 
			  Burglary 6,650 7,203 7,983 8,687 8,339 
			  Robbery 5,615 5,767 5,644 6,176 5,683 
			  Theft and handling of stolen goods 6,143 6,780 7,806 7,837 6,603 
			  Fraud and forgery 6,730 6,729 6,629 6,064 4,955 
			 ‘—’ = Nil. 1 Excludes 'other' offenders, i.e. companies, public bodies, etc. 2 Acquisitive offences include all burglary, robbery and theft and handling of stolen goods offences. Notes: 1. Custody rate is calculated as the proportion of the total number of persons sentenced who are sentenced to immediate custody. 2. Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Crime: Business

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will review the adequacy of current legislation on corporate criminal liability.

Damian Green: The Government has no specific plans to review the adequacy of the current legislation on corporate criminal liability, although this area, like all criminal law, is subject to general monitoring.

Electronic Commerce: Fraud

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many successful prosecutions for fraud in (a) England and (b) Cornwall have been for cases involving trade on the website eBay in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: Shopping and auction fraud relies on the anonymity of the internet. The Action Fraud website:
	www.actionfraud.police.uk/home
	provides guidance for victims on reporting these offences to the police.
	The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to separately identify from this centrally held information prosecutions for fraud involving trade on the website eBay. This detailed information may be held on the court record but due to the size and complexity is not reported centrally to the MOJ. As such, the information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Juries: Age

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reasons are for his proposal to increase the upper age limit of jurors to 75 while that of judges remains 70.

Damian Green: We are raising the upper age limit for jury service to make juries more representative of all the people who are playing a full part in their communities. However jury service is not comparable to service as a judicial office holder.
	Jurors are randomly selected and sit with 11 others to assess the evidence presented and to deliver verdicts in a trial or inquest. Afterwards, the jurors are discharged. Judicial office holders on the other hand serve on a permanent basis sitting either alone or, in the case of some tribunals or the magistracy, as a panel of two or three. They are expected to rule on a daily basis on a variety of complex issues in a wide range of cases—applying the law accordingly.
	The Government has considered the merits of extending the mandatory retirement age of judicial office holders, and following discussions with members of the senior judiciary and others remains convinced that the current mandatory retirement regime supports the legitimate aim of a justice system which is independent, fair and efficient.

Law of Property Act 1925

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what recent assessment his Department has made of the value of property sold by receivers appointed under the Law of Property Act 1925 in the last year;
	(2)  if he will introduce a register for receivers appointed under the Law of Property Act 1925;
	(3)  how many people have (a) sought and (b) obtained compensation through the courts for breaches of the Law of Property Act 1925;
	(4)  what minimum qualifications receivers appointed under the Law of Property Act 1925 have to hold.

Damian Green: Law of Property Act Receivers (“LPA Receivers”) are appointed by secured lenders (“mortgagees”) to take over and manage mortgaged premises either under the power contained in the Law of Property Act 1925 (“the Act”) or an express power in the mortgage. The Act does not specify any minimum qualifications for appointment as a LPA Receiver.
	The Ministry of Justice has not assessed the value of properties sold by LPA Receivers and has no plans to introduce a register of LPA Receiver appointments. The Department will, however, continue to keep the law relating to LPA Receivers under review.
	The Act covers a wide range of matters relating to general property law. Statistics are not collected on the number of people who have sought and obtained compensation through the courts for breaches of the Act either generally or against LPA Receivers. Such information could be obtained only at disproportionate expense.

Oakwood Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of the staff working at HM Prison Oakwood when it took its first prisoners had previous experience of working in a prison;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of the staff working at HM Prison Oakwood had (a) no, (b) up to six months, (c) between six and 12 months and (d) over 12 months previous experience working in a prison when it took its first prisoners.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not collected centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost. At HMP Oakwood, staff are employed by a number of providers to deliver a range of services including, for example, probation services, education and health care, as well as custodial services.

Offenders: EU Nationals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of citizens of other EU member states living in the UK who have been convicted of crimes committed in the UK.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database does not record the nationality of offenders sentenced for criminal offences.
	We do however record the number of EU nationals in prison.
	All Foreign National Offenders sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.

Prison Service

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average ratio of prison officers to inmates in prisons in England and Wales was in June 2013.

Jeremy Wright: There were 4.1 prisoners to each prison officer employed within Prison Service establishments in England and Wales at 30 June 2013. This ratio includes both public sector and privately managed establishments. The figure relates to the total number of officers employed rather than the number on duty at any particular time.
	Staffing levels are being reviewed prison by prison as part of a ‘benchmarking approach'.
	Benchmarking has been agreed with the unions and the NAO has commented that the wider strategy for the prison estate is the most coherent and comprehensive for many years. It delivers efficiencies while ensuring that public sector prisons operate safely, decently and securely.
	Benchmarking optimises the skills of staff by introducing new ways of working and puts all prison officers in prisoner facing roles.

Probation Trusts

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many senior management posts there were across all probation trusts on 1 February 2014.

Jeremy Wright: Information on staffing levels in the probation trusts by job group is collected and published in the quarterly Probation Service Workforce Information reports. The link to the latest published report on gov.uk relating to Q3 2013-14 is provided as follows:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/probation-service-workforce-quarterly-reports
	The job groups that are deemed to be Senior Management are Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive and Assistant Chief Executive.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what value of contracts procured by his Department in the last five years was carried out below EU thresholds.

Damian Green: The following table shows the number of contracts awarded below the EU threshold and the total value of those contracts in the last five years. Please note that we have broken up the data to reflect the EU threshold in each period.
	
		
			 Threshold in relevant period 
			  £  £  £ 
			 Goods 90,319.00 Goods 101,323.00 Goods 113,057.00 
			 Services 90,319.00 Services 101,323.00 Services 113,057.00 
			 Works 3,497,313.00 Works 3,927,260.00 Works 4,348,350.00 
		
	
	
		
			  Year 1 Year 2/3 Year 4/5 
			  Number of contracts Value (£) Number of Contracts Value (£) Number of contracts Value (£) 
			 Total goods 9 285,388.42 23 1,093,241.02 37 1,698,603.10 
			 Total services 88 3,636,609.96 97 3,902,145.58 271 9,910,100.16 
			 Total works1 32 1,500,126.22 184 30,459,429.36 272 20,881,294.91 
			 1 Data for works contracts awarded below the EU thresholds in 2009 is not held centrally.

Vetting

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the changes announced under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 will also apply to CRB checks.

Jeremy Wright: The changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 which I announced on 13 February 2014, contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, are changes to the primary legislation and come into force in England and Wales on 10 March 2014. The measures shorten the rehabilitation periods for most convictions, after which they are considered to be ‘spent', and extend the scope of the 1974 Act to allow for custodial sentences of up to, and including, four years to become spent after a specified period of time. Previously the longest custodial sentence which could become spent was 30 months. Once spent, cautions and convictions do not have to be disclosed for most purposes. The amendments will mean that more convictions may become spent earlier and will not be included in criminal conviction certificates which show only unspent conditional cautions and convictions, commonly known as basic disclosure certificates, and which can be requested by any employer. These reforms will give offenders who have served their sentence and have turned their back on crime a fair chance of getting their lives back on track.
	These changes do not affect the content of standard and enhanced disclosure certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly the Criminal Records Bureau) as these certificates include certain spent caution and conviction information in addition to unspent conviction information. These certificates may only be requested by employers and others where the occupation or activity is listed on the Exceptions Order to the 1974 Act. The Exceptions Order covers sensitive occupations, such as working unsupervised with children, and allows for fuller disclosure of criminal record information in order to maintain public protection. However, in response to a Court of Appeal judgment handed down in January 2013, the Government amended the Exceptions Order last year to provide that certain old and minor spent cautions and convictions are protected and are no longer routinely included in standard and enhanced criminal record certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

TRANSPORT

Cycling

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish his Department's cycling delivery plan.

Robert Goodwill: The Department is currently working with stakeholders and other Government Departments to develop the content of the Government's Cycling Delivery Plan, and expects to publish it later in 2014.

First Transpennine Express

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many seats are available on the diesel train fleet allocated to Transpennine Express; and how many are expected to be available in December 2015.

Stephen Hammond: The diesel fleet operated by First TransPennine Express consists of Class 170 and Class 185 units; each Class 170 has 105 standard seats and eight first Class seats—there are nine Class 170 trains in the fleet. Each Class 185 has 154 standard seats and 14 first Class seats—there are 51 Class 185 train sets in the fleet.
	The Department is currently in discussion with First TransPennine Express in respect of a short direct award covering the period from April 2015 to February 2016; the operator will be responsible for sourcing appropriate rolling stock for this period.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the most recent report on High Speed 2 by the Major Projects Authority.

Robert Goodwill: This Government has a strong record on transparency and last year published the first ever Major Projects Authority (MPA) report which included information on all major projects, including High Speed 2. The next annual report will be published in May 2014 and will include the RAG rating for the most recent MPA review of HS2.
	The Government does not intend to publish any further information relating to the MPA report.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that the full independent summary of the consultation into the proposed High Speed 2 route from Birmingham to the North of England is published by IPSOS Mori.

Robert Goodwill: I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 February 2014, Official Report, column 387W.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pagers have been provided to staff by his Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers.

Stephen Hammond: The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) and Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) are the only areas of the Department that utilise pagers.
	The number and cost of pagers is as follows:
	AAIB
	
		
			  Number of pagers Amount spent (£) 
			 2010-11 40 1,919.58 
			 2011 (January) 16 89.21 
			 2011-12 6 476.84 
			 2012-13 5 372.23 
			 2013-14 5 327.36 
			 Total cost  3,185.22 
			 1 Reduced to 6. 
		
	
	MCA
	Since May 2010 the MCA:
	has purchased 550 Channel 00 pagers at a cost of £121,900. Channel 00 pagers cannot be rented and have to be purchased. The MCA use them in areas of poor communications, e.g. for some volunteer coastguards in remote areas, on a private VHF network that MCA maintain;
	has rented 604 commercial pagers at £1.44 per pager, per month. The precise rental start dates cannot be easily identified and manually checking start dates for pagers would unfortunately incur disproportionate costs.

Railways: Compensation

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to encourage train companies to inform customers of their rights to compensation and to provide information on this matter to the public.

Stephen Hammond: It is important that passengers are aware of their entitlements to claim compensation and I will continue to push operators to do all they can to make sure passengers are fully aware of their rights and have a simple claim process. A summary of the steps being taken by operators is on the Rail Delivery Group website.
	http://www.raildeliverygroup.com/assets/files/2014/02/RAIL%20INDUSTRY%20RESPONDS%20TO%20 REGULATORS%20REPORT%20ON%20PASSENGER% 20COMPENSATION.pdf

Railways: Electrification

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the cost of rail electrification to electricity network operators.

Stephen Hammond: The assessment of the costs of rail electrification are the subject of commercial discussions between Network Rail and the electricity network operators. Network Rail can be approached at 90 York Way, London N1 9AG.

Railways: Passengers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of changes in train passenger numbers over the next 10 years.

Stephen Hammond: The number of passenger rail journeys is forecast to grow from an estimated 1,530 million in 2013-14 to 1,842 million by 2023-24.

Railways: Passengers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average number is of passengers travelling in first class on weekdays from London to (a) Manchester, (b) Leeds and (c) Birmingham.

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport does not hold this information.

Railways: Tees Valley

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the average number of rail passengers travelling in first class on weekdays from London to (a) Darlington and (b) Eaglescliffe.

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport does not hold this information.

Rescue Services: Belfast

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Belfast, was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in January 2014.

Stephen Hammond: During January 2014 Belfast Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed below risk assessed levels on six occasions out of 62 shifts.
	Where there are specific issues at a MRCC Her Majesty's Coastguard is using the current long established pairing arrangements between MRCCs. This enables each MRCC to be connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support.

Rescue Services: Liverpool

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Liverpool, was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in January 2014.

Stephen Hammond: During January 2014 Liverpool Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed below risk assessed levels on seven occasions out of 62 shifts.
	Where there are specific issues at a MRCC Her Majesty's Coastguard is using the current long established pairing arrangements between MRCCs. This enables each MRCC to be connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support.

Rescue Services: Stornoway

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Stornoway, was staffed at below risk-assessed levels in January 2014.

Stephen Hammond: During January 2014 Stornoway Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was staffed below risk assessed levels on five occasions out of 62 shifts.
	Where there are specific issues at a MRCC Her Majesty's Coastguard is using the current long established pairing arrangements between MRCCs. This enables each MRCC to be connected to at least one other MRCC which is available to provide mutual support.

Road Signs and Markings

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish his Department's review of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport expects to consult on proposed changes to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions in the spring, and to bring its successor into force in 2015.

Roads: Worcester

Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number of journeys affected by and (b) the total cost of road closures as a result of flooding in Worcester during February 2014.

Robert Goodwill: The strategic road network which falls under the responsibility of the Highways Agency did not report any closures as a result of flooding in Worcestershire during February 2014.
	Local roads in Worcester are the responsibility of the local highway authority, Worcestershire county council. The Department for Transport does not, therefore, hold records of the number of journeys that may have been affected or any cost estimates as a result of local road closures due to flooding.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 296W, on equality, what the cost to her Department was of section 75 equality training in each year between 2008-09 and 2012-13.

Theresa Villiers: Figures are not available centrally for the period prior to the completion of devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010.
	My Department has worked with the Centre for Applied Learning (CAL) to develop equality training tailored to the revised role, responsibilities and structure of the Department. The first training session was delivered to all staff in 2013-14 at a cost of £5,000.

SCOTLAND

Internet

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what services his Department provides that are (a) available online only and (b) planned to move to online only.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office publishes online a wide range of information and analysis about its functions and to inform the debate on Scotland's constitutional future. The Office does not provide transactional services to the public. Accordingly it does not, and does not plan, to provide any such services online.

Pensions

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the Scottish Government's plans for Scottish pensions in the event of independence.

David Mundell: The Scottish Government has made a number of claims about pension provision in the event of independence, but have not set out what this would cost or how they would pay for it. They continue to make assertions on this issue, which do not provide the important answers to the uncertainties that remain.
	People in Scotland benefit from having a fair and effective system for paying state pensions, wherever they live in the UK.
	Private pension schemes operate across the UK under a single set of regulations, which means that everyone in the UK is able to access the same offers.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the recommendations of the British Chambers of Commerce Skills and Employment Manifesto, if he will support small and medium-sized enterprises to invest in apprenticeships and workplace training.

Matthew Hancock: Apprenticeships need to meet the needs of small businesses. That is why we asked Jason Holt to review how to make apprenticeships more accessible to small businesses. This led to a number of reforms including the development of small business-specific guidance on apprenticeships, a new web tool aimed at helping small businesses to more easily identify the training provider that best meets their apprentice's needs, and a new “Apprenticeship Maker” mentoring scheme.
	That is also why we introduced the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers which provides additional support for companies with fewer than 1,000 employees and why I have insisted that small businesses are involved in the development of the new apprenticeship standards which are replacing the old complex frameworks as part of our reform programme. The first 11 standards were published earlier this week.

Apprentices

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the recommendation of the British Chambers of Commerce Skills and Employment Manifesto that Accredited Chambers of Commerce or other organisations trusted by business should be used to provide objective advice to employers about how they can use apprenticeships to grow their businesses.

Matthew Hancock: The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) is already developing a “Trusted Advisor” initiative to help to promote the take up of apprenticeships among small businesses. This involves the kinds of organisations suggested by the British Chamber of Commerce. We therefore welcome their recommendation and NAS will be happy to work with them.

Business: Staffordshire

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to increase the level of access to credit for businesses in (a) Cannock Chase constituency and (b) Staffordshire in the last year.

Matthew Hancock: The Government is committed to ensuring businesses can access the finance they need for investment and growth.
	The Bank of England and HM Treasury announced in November that the Funding for Lending scheme would be refocused on lending to businesses to reflect the success that the scheme has had on households.
	The British Business Bank is being established to increase the supply of capital to smaller businesses throughout the UK resulting in increased competition in the banking sector from alternative lenders, like peer to peer lenders and challenger banks.
	A breakdown of businesses in Cannock Chase and Staffordshire that have been supported by British Business Bank schemes last year is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme Start Up Loans Company 
			 Cannock Chase constituency 5 businesses drew down £300,000 10 start-ups have received £65,424 
			 Staffordshire 46 businesses drew down £4.2 million 192 start-ups have received £1,075,513

Copyright

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress his Department has made on drafting the regulations needed to implement changes to copyright exceptions; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Government has consulted extensively on the proposed changes to copyright exceptions. In December 2012 it set out its policy conclusions and in July 2013 took the additional step of putting out the draft regulations for technical review, giving stakeholders a final further opportunity to comment on the draft regulations. The Technical Review closed in September 2013 and the responses have been carefully reviewed.
	The Government is grateful for the contributions of all those who responded to the various consultations and has continued to engage with stakeholders since the review closed. We have made a number of technical changes following the helpful input of stakeholders, and we consider the regulations have been improved as a result. So, the regulations will be different in light of the valuable consultation process.
	The draft regulations are subject to final checking and in accordance with routine practice the Department is currently consulting the legal advisers to the Joint Committee on Statutory instruments. This process can help to avoid difficulties about powers, drafting, etc. arising at a later stage, and assists both the Department and the Committee in minimising any delay in the passage of an instrument. Unless otherwise agreed with the legal adviser, Departments should normally allow a period of not less than two sitting weeks for this advance scrutiny. The regulations will be laid before Parliament and published as soon as this process is complete. The regulations will be subject to affirmative resolution and will be debated in both Houses of Parliament.
	The Government will publish a response to the technical review, explanatory notes, guidance and other supporting documents alongside the regulations. This will explain the changes we have made to the drafts on which we consulted and why. Copies of all of these documents will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and will be available on the IPO website.

Economic Situation

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress he has made on rebalancing the economy across regions and sectors.

Vincent Cable: We are rebalancing the economy through the industrial strategy: a long term partnership between industry and government.
	All regions have seen positive growth and, since 2010, private sector employment has increased by 7.5% for England and has increased in every region.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of the time taken to implement section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 on design businesses and consumers.

David Willetts: The impact that the timing of implementing section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 will have on design businesses, consumers and others will be considered in a forthcoming consultation. Evidence from this consultation in spring 2014 will be reflected in the decision on when to implement the change in law.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the statutory instrument implementing section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 will be laid; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Government plans to publish a consultation document in spring 2014 seeking views on its proposals for transitional provisions.
	The statutory instrument which implements section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 will be laid after the consultation on the timing of the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 has been completed.

Exports: Indonesia

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions his Department had with UK Export Finance about a licence to the Indonesian military for the purchase of surveillance equipment for its Strategic Intelligence Agency from Gamma TSE; what assessment his Department made of the impact of providing this equipment on human rights in (a) West Papua and (b) Indonesia; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Export Control Organisation within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills administers the UK's strategic export control system. The ECO has not received an export licence application as described and therefore no such assessment has been made.

Higher Education: Admissions

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effect of removing the cap on student numbers at higher education institutions.

David Willetts: Removing the cap on student numbers provides better opportunities for young people and helps long-term economic growth and improves social mobility. We have allocated 30,000 places in 2014/15 and estimate 60,000 may be taken up in 2016/17, but actual numbers will depend on the decisions of students and universities.

Higher Education: Finance

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received from universities facing financial challenges.

David Willetts: Universities and their representative bodies routinely make representations to Ministers on a range of topics, including financial issues. The progressive implementation of this Government's higher education reforms has put the system on a sound foundation. Combining recurrent grant for teaching and estimated fee income from students subject to regulated fees, the resource for teaching rose from around £7.9 billion in 2011-12 to almost £8.5 billion in 2013-14. The Chancellor's autumn statement provided further funding to enable an expansion of higher education places and to increase levels of resource for the teaching of high cost subjects such as science and engineering.

Higher Education: Finance

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the financial viability of UK non-Russell Group universities beyond the next 15 years.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is responsible for monitoring the financial health of all grant-funded higher education institutions. This is done on the basis of the financial returns and forecasts the Council requires from institutions for the year in hand and two years ahead. HEFCE updates and publishes its assessment twice a year. The most recent assessment confirms that overall, the sector is in sound financial health and no institutions were reported to be close to insolvency.

Land Registry: Plymouth

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effect of his Department's proposed changes to the Land Registry on jobs in Plymouth.

Michael Fallon: The BIS consultation seeks views both on the proposal to create a new company as well as on potential ownership options for this new company.
	The size and structure of Land Registry may be influenced by the outcome of the consultation, as the future structure of the organisation will necessarily affect business planning.
	However no decisions will be taken until the consultation is completed and all responses have been considered.

Nurses: Disclosure of Information

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to extend the scope of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 to cover student nurses who raise concerns about patient care.

Jennifer Willott: We are in the process of finalising the Government response to the call for evidence into the whistleblowing framework. This considered a number of issues, including the scope of the definition of worker which is set out at in section 43K of the Employment Rights Act 1996:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/43K
	We aim to publish the Government response before the Easter recess.

Public Houses

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings his Department (a) has had and (b) plans to have with publicans tied to the large pub companies to discuss plans for a statutory code and adjudicator.

Jennifer Willott: The Department has taken, and will continue to take, an even handed approach to speaking with stakeholders from all sides of the debate as we develop our proposals for statutory intervention in the pubs sector. This includes our engagement with stakeholders prior to the launch of the Government's consultation on pub companies and tenants in April 2013, during the consultation, and since it closed in June 2013.
	Since November 2012, 15 meetings have been held with tenant representative organisations. In addition, two roundtable discussions were held with tenant representative organisations in January and June 2013, with the former hosted by the Minister for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs. Many of those who attended a meeting or roundtable were either current or ex tied tenants of one of the large pub companies. Officials also met tenants of Heineken UK/Star Pubs and Bars at an event for their tenants in November 2013. While not classed as a large pub company, officials also met tied tenants of a family brewer during a visit to the Shepherd Neame brewery in June 2013. In November 2013, the Minister for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs met a number of tied tenants of the large pub companies who had experience of the Pubs Independent Conciliation and Arbitration Service, at a meeting arranged by my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North West (Greg Mulholland).

Students: Loans

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the Answers of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 166W, on students: loans, when he expects to start reviewing the RAB charge model.

Matthew Hancock: The 24+ Advanced Learning Loans programme has not yet completed its first full year. BIS is currently collecting data on learners as it emerges, and based on this data we are beginning to review the appropriateness of the RAB charge model. We hope to be able to announce whether there will be any revisions to the RAB charge this summer, as part of the annual report and accounts.

Weather: Forecasts

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of ability of the Met Office to improve its forecasting and predicting methods to a level which meets the needs of emergency responders.

Michael Fallon: The Met Office is committed to constantly improving its forecasting and predicting methods. The Met Office has, for example, introduced high resolution weather models to improve the accuracy of its forecasts of wind and rainfall. The Met Office has also improved the National Severe Weather Warning Service to provide clearer, targeted warnings based on the likely impacts that severe weather can bring, and has increased the number of regional advisers who provide expert advice during severe weather events.
	In 2013, a survey conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Public Weather Service Customer Group was completed by over 2,500 people or bodies with responsibilities for responding to the impacts of severe weather events. This showed that 87% are satisfied with the overall service provided by the Met Office to their organisation, 91% are satisfied with the last severe weather warning they received, and 86% are satisfied with the service provided by the Met Office's network of advisers.

HEALTH

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what criteria his Department will use to formulate new guidelines on compliance with the Abortion Act;
	(2)  which organisations and individuals he is consulting prior to the publication of new guidelines on compliance with the Abortion Act; whether the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and Marie Stopes International will be, or have been, consulted; and whether he will publish draft proposals so that other parties may contribute to the process.

Jane Ellison: The approach we are taking is to set out the Department's interpretation of the requirements of the Abortion Act, in relation to areas where it has been suggested that this would be helpful. This will include considering how a doctor should go about making an assessment of a woman's circumstances for the purpose of reaching a good faith opinion under the Act. The guidance has been developed following discussions with Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, British Medical Association, General Medical Council, Crown Prosecution Service and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. We have also had more general discussions about the Abortion Act with British Pregnancy Advisory Service and Marie Stopes International. We have no plans to consult on a draft as the document is designed to set out the Department's interpretation of the law.

Abortion

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2014, Official Report, column 828W, on abortion, whether gender may be considered a contributing factor to grounds for abortion when compounded by other considerations;
	(2)  if he will investigate abortion providers whose advice on the legality of gender abortions contradicts that of his Department;
	(3)  what evidence his Department holds or has assessed on whether giving birth to a baby of a specific gender constitutes a greater risk to the mother's physical or mental health than termination of the pregnancy;
	(4)  pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2014, Official Report, column 832W, on abortion, under what conditions and in relation to what other factors gender may be considered a relevant criterion for an abortion under the Abortion Act 1967, as amended; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The Government is clear that abortion on the grounds of gender alone is illegal.
	The Abortion Act states that two practitioners have to be “of the opinion, formed in good faith” that the woman has met the grounds for an abortion. It is for doctors to satisfy themselves that they are in a position to give such an the opinion, and to defend it if challenged.
	The sex of an unborn child may be a legitimate factor in determining whether an abortion would meet the criteria in the Abortion Act 1967. For example, a practitioner might consider that an abortion is justified on the grounds specified under Section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped when there is an issue around sex-linked inherited conditions.
	Any specific allegations about gender-selective abortions being undertaken should be reported to the police.

Advertising Association

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the (a) dates, (b) agendas and (c) minutes of any meetings (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in his Department have had with representatives of the Advertising Association between January 2012 and February 2014.

Daniel Poulter: Details of meetings held by Ministers and permanent secretaries with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found at:
	www.gov.uk
	Information requested in respect of other officials' meetings is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Food: Testing

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many food authenticity tests on composition, labelling and safety were carried out by (a) local authorities and (b) the Food Standards Authority as part of local authority audits in the UK in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency is an independent non-ministerial Government Department accountable to Parliament through Department of Health Ministers.
	Local authority sampling levels recorded by the FSA are shown in the following table, for composition, labelling and safety, over the last five years. ‘Microbiological analyses' and ‘Other Contamination analyses' are classed as ‘safety' sampling. The majority of composition analysis relates to authenticity testing.
	
		
			  Number of Composition analyses Number of Labelling and Presentation analyses Number of Microbiological analyses Number of Other Contamination analyses 
			 2008-09 32,599 21,343 71,131 5,150 
			 2009-10 26,113 16,739 70,737 5,121 
			 2010-il 22,255 13,942 67,184 4,424 
			 2011-12 18,219 11,879 55,546 4,432 
			 2012-13 16,982 9,958 53,108 3,887 
		
	
	The Food Standards Agency does not take samples as part of local authority audits.

General Practitioners

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre will monitor data collection against Quality Outcomes Framework disease management measures which will be retired in April 2014; and how often such data will be published;
	(2)  what steps he has taken to ensure there is continuity in data collection on GP practice performance against Quality Outcomes Framework disease management measures which are to be retired in April 2014.

Jane Ellison: We understand that NHS England is currently developing procedures and protocols for continued data analysis and reporting for the indicators that will be retired from the Quality and Outcomes Framework in April 2014. NHS England is committed to utilising this information to promote quality improvement in the care patients receive. The final decision on frequency of extraction and reporting is yet to be determined.

General Practitioners

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what clinical targets will remain within general practice to help identify and manage patients with high risk factors of (a) cardiovascular disease and (b) high cholesterol and HbA1C levels.

Jane Ellison: The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) for 2014-15 includes the following indicators relating to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes mellitus:
	five indicators on the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD)-CHD 001, 002, 007, 005 and 006;
	three indicators on peripheral arterial disease (PAD)-PAD 001, 002 and 004;
	five indicators on stroke and transient ischaemic attack (STIA)-STIA 001, 008, 003, 009 and 007;
	one indicator on cardiovascular disease-primary prevention-CVD-PP001; and
	four indicators on diabetes mellitus (DM) cholesterol and HbAlC-DM 004, 007, 008 and 009.
	A summary of changes to QOF 2014-15 in England can be found at:
	www.nhsemployers.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/2014_15_Summary_of_QOF_changes_mh141113.pdf
	This gives a full description of each indicator.
	These indicators cover five of the clinical domains of the QOF and include secondary prevention of CHD, PAD, stroke and CVD primary prevention and together equate to 22% of the total QOF indicators.

Health Services: Cannock Chase

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent in Cannock Chase constituency in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2012-13.

Daniel Poulter: Information is not collected at constituency level.
	The following table represents the net operating costs for South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), which covered Cannock Chase constituency. The net operating cost of a PCT is the most accurate reflection available of the total cost of commissioning healthcare for the PCTs resident population.
	
		
			 Net Operating Costs for South Staffordshire PCT 
			  £000 
			 2006-07 686,867 
			 2008-09 801,212 
			 2010-11 947,477 
		
	
	
		
			 2012-13 1,008,005 
			 Notes: 1. Data are not collected at constituency level. The lowest level that data is collected is by PCT. 2. South Staffordshire PCT was formed in October 2006 following the merger of Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth, Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire and South Western Staffordshire PCTs. 3. Following the re-organisation of the NHS, South Staffordshire PCT was abolished on 31 March 2013. Source: Audited PCT summarisation schedules from which the NHS (England) Summarised Accounts are prepared

Health Services: Hearing Impairment

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how his Department will ensure that communication professionals working with deaf people are eligible for an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service declaration;
	(2)  how his Department will ensure that communication professionals engaged to work with deaf people meet the standards for enhanced criminal records checks as maintained by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Norman Lamb: To be eligible for an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, all positions, including those for communication professionals, must be included in both the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 and the Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations.
	For DBS checking, an exempted question is a valid request for a person to reveal their full criminal history. An exempted question applies when the individual will be working in specific occupations, for certain licences and specified positions. These are covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
	The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations sets out the circumstances in which a person is eligible for an enhanced DBS check. These regulations make provisions for an enhanced check to be done in order to consider a person's suitability to “work with adults” as defined in Regulation 5B or undertake regulated activity relating to vulnerable adults as defined by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (as amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012).

Health: Climate Change

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 16 November 2010, Official Report, column 958W, on pathogens: climate change, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of climate change on (a) physical and (b) mental health of UK residents; and if he will produce an updated version of his Department's 2008 assessment of the possible effect of climate change on mental health entitled, Health Effects of Climate Change in the UK.

Jane Ellison: Since the 2008 Department commissioned report, there has been an extensive update, which was published in September of 2012. This report: “The Health Effects of Climate Change in the UK 2012: Current evidence, recommendations and research gaps”1 was published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), which has now become part of Public Health England.
	The extensive 240 page report consists of 10 chapters and covers a range of climate change impacts on physical and mental health, including effects of temperatures (hot and cold), air pollution, aeroallergens, ultraviolet radiation, the indoor environment, vector-, food- and water-borne diseases, floods and a chapter on the health co-benefits of policies to reduce greenhouse gases. The chapters were authored by existing HPA staff, academics and other researchers, and were extensively peer reviewed.
	1 Vardoulakis, S. and Heaviside, C. [eds.] (2012) “Health Effects of Climate Change in the UK 2012-Current evidence, public health recommendations and research gaps”. Health Protection Agency. Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, UK. ISBN: 978-0-85951-723-2.
	www.hpa.org.uk/hecc2012

Heart Diseases

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made in implementing the recommendations of the Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Strategy.

Jane Ellison: Responsibility for determining the overall national approach to improving clinical outcomes from health care services lies with NHS England. NHS England hosts a number of strategic clinical networks which cover cardiovascular disease (CVD) and which are intended to support the development and dissemination of good clinical practice.
	NHS England advises that it has established a Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Strategy implementation group and that it is working with a variety of partners and stakeholders to deliver the strategy.
	It is for individual clinical commissioning groups to commission treatment and services for patients with heart disease, as they are best placed to identify what is needed in their local areas.
	In the ‘Everyone Counts: Planning for Patients 2014/15 to 2018/19’ document, NHS England has asked commissioners to set a specific and measurable level of ambition in relation to securing additional years of life for people with treatable mental and physical health conditions. NHS England expects strategic clinical networks to support local commissioners to deliver this ambition, including through action on CVD.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential demand for IVF if the NHS adopted universal provision;
	(2)  what criteria are used to determine how many rounds of IVF are made available to those who qualify through the NHS;
	(3)  what his policy is on the NHS providing (a) one, (b) two and (c) three rounds of IVF to those who qualify through the NHS.

Jane Ellison: NHS England has advised that it has made no assessment of the potential demand for in vitro fertilisation if the national health service adopted universal provision. The level of provision of infertility treatment is decided by the local clinical commissioning group (CCG). CCGs decisions should be underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of other health care needs of the local population. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.
	NHS England expects that all those involved in commissioning infertility treatment services to be fully aware of the importance of having regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence fertility guidelines. In February 2013, NHS England issued a factsheet to support CCGs in taking on those responsibilities.

Medical Records: Databases

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the campaign to inform people they can opt out of the Summary Care Record cost; and how much paper was used in that campaign.

Daniel Poulter: The cost of the Summary Care Record Public Information Programme was approximately 33p per patient contacted.
	The Summary Care Record Public Information Awareness Programme campaign took place over a four-year period ending in October 2013, and contacted approximately 45.9 million patients in England. Typically, the information sent to patients included a letter and an opt out form, but this may vary from one clinical commissioning group, or formerly primary care trust, to another.

Medical Records: Veterans

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to put a trace on medical records to indicate past military service to enable armed forces veterans to be identified after their death for the purpose of arranging their funeral.

Daniel Poulter: When leaving the armed forces, ex-service personnel when registering with a general practitioner (GP) are required to complete a form that asks whether they are returning from the armed forces. This can then be recorded on the medical records of the individual. In addition to this, work is under way to link Ministry of Defence medical information technology (IT) to NHS IT systems for intended routine transfer of medical documents from Defence Primary Health Care to GPs.

Mental Health Services: LGBT People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve the mental health of LGBT people.

Norman Lamb: Our mental health action plan, and the wide programme of activity in support of the delivery of the priorities in the plan, is for all ages and applies to everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, religion or belief. It also includes a specific priority around tackling inequalities to mental health services. Examples of action include the Time to Change programme tackling stigma and discrimination, working with LGBT organisations such as MindOut locally.

NHS

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health trusts are currently under consideration for the trust special administration regime.

Jane Ellison: There are currently no national health service trusts or NHS foundation trusts to which application of the trust special administrator's regime is formally being considered.

NHS: Finance

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many previous years' spending was used in calculations for the baseline funding allocation for specialised commissioning in 2013-14.

Norman Lamb: NHS England advises that information from 2011-12 and 2012-13 was used in the calculations for the baseline funding allocation for specialised commissioning in 2013-14.

Obesity

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who is responsible for commissioning Tier 3 obesity treatments.

Jane Ellison: There are different models of commissioning currently in place at a local level and in some areas obesity services, including tier 3 services, are being commissioned by either local authorities or clinical commissioning groups or in collaboration.
	Public Health England and NHS England, in response to concerns expressed about the varied commissioning and access to multi-disciplinary team interventions, commonly referred to as tier 3 services, established a working group to consider and make recommendations on how the current pathway and commissioning arrangements for tier 3 might be improved.
	The working group report is shortly due to be published. In addition I recently met with Dr Jonathan Valabhji, the National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes, and this was one of the topics discussed. Dr Valabhji is closely involved in the work to clarify tier 3 commissioning arrangements.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pagers have been provided to staff by his Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers.

Daniel Poulter: During 2010-11 a pager service was provided to the Department by Vodafone with 129 pagers. The majority of pagers were cancelled during 2011-12 with nine remaining until October 2012.
	The cost incurred for pager services for each financial year was as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2009-10 7,654.01 
			 2010-11 5,818.82 
			 2011-12 11,023.89

Self-harm: Staffordshire

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reported incidents of self-harm there were by people under the age of 18 in (a) Staffordshire and (b) Cannock Chase constituency in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Information on the number of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a cause of self-harm and the number of accident and emergency (A&E) attendances with a patient group of deliberate self-harm for people under the age of 18, residing in (a) Staffordshire and (b) Cannock Chase parliamentary constituency for each year between 2008-09 to 2012-13 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Year FAEs A&E Attendances 
			 Staffordshire (County) 2008-09 174 218 
			  2009-10 172 155 
			  2010-11 236 213 
			  2011-12 162 142 
			  2012-13 257 269 
			     
			 Cannock Chase (Parliamentary Constituency) 2009-10 36 12 
			  2010-11 44 8 
			  2011-12 21 17 
		
	
	
		
			  2012-13 25 25 
			 Notes: 1. An FAE is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. 2. Cause code is a supplementary code that indicates the nature of any external cause of injury, poisoning or other adverse effects. Only the first external cause code which is coded within the episode is counted in Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). 3. A&E Attendance is a count of the number of attendances at A&E. This does not represent the number of patients as an individual may attend on more than one occasion in any given period. 4: Patient Group code indicates the reason for the A&E episode. Group 30 indicates those attending because of deliberate self-harm. 5. The county of residence (Staffordshire) is the county containing the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another county for treatment. 6. The parliamentary constituency (Cannock Chase) containing the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another parliamentary constituency for treatment. This field is only available from 2009-10 onwards. 7. Assessing growth through time (in-patients)—HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in national health service practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. 8. Assessing growth through time (A&E)—HES figures are available from 2007-08 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. 9. It is possible that the same person may be counted as an FAE and an A&E Attendance if an attendance at A&E for injury due to self-harm has resulted in the patient being admitted to hospital as an in-patient for further treatment. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, Hospital Episode Statistics

Suicide

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Chief Coroner's Office on collecting sexual orientation data on people who have committed suicide.

Norman Lamb: The Chief Coroner attended a meeting of the Department's National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group on 14 March 2013 where the issue of collecting sexual orientation data on people who have committed suicide was discussed.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband: Rural Areas

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she has taken to ensure that her Department's contracts with BT for the roll-out of rural superfast broadband include a reasonable market rate for (a) equipment costs and (b) other non-management costs.

Edward Vaizey: Under the superfast broadband contracts between local authorities and the devolved Administrations and BT the supplier may only claim for eligible capital expenditure incurred in implementation of the network. DCMS is able to provide comparison data on these costs to each of the local authorities and devolved Administrations. BT has committed that the costs are the same as those used for its commercially-funded network. BT also bears part of the network installation costs itself so therefore has its own commercial incentives to minimise costs. The local authorities and devolved Administrations and DCMS have full visibility of all implementation costs and the relevant invoices, including BT's contribution. The National Audit Office considered the controls that are in place to manage costs during implementation as part of its review of the rural broadband programme in 2013 and concluded that these appear robust.

Gun Sports

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what financial support the Government has provided for shooting sports in the last five years.

Helen Grant: Since 2009 Sport England has invested over £1 million in British Shooting to encourage more people to take part in the sport more often. It has also invested £588,233 in community shooting projects and facilities. This includes seven clubs who have benefited from Sport England's Inspired Facilities Fund.
	UK Sport invests in four-year cycles in line with the Olympic/Paralympic calendars; investing just over £4.5 million during the London 2012 cycle (2009-13), and just over £6.5 million into Paralympic Disability Olympic Shooting and Shooting for the Rio 2016 cycle (2013-17).

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Housing

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2014, Official Report, column 549W, on armed forces: housing, how many service personnel were placed temporarily in hotels in (a) Plymouth and (b) nationally in each of the last 12 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of use of hotels for this purpose.

Anna Soubry: Service personnel may occasionally, and as a last resort, be housed in substitute accommodation when their single living or service family accommodation is temporarily unavailable. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including where there has been a fire or flood. Information on instances where hotels have provided a substitute for single living accommodation is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	In 2013 there were 179 instances where service family accommodation was substituted with a stay in a hotel at a cost to public funds of £32,245. For comparison, the equipment figure for 2009, the last full year of the previous Administration was £49,934. Details are provided in the following table, although information specific to Plymouth is not held. Information on the South West Region (which includes Plymouth) is provided along with data for the whole of England and Wales. Data for January 2014 is not yet available.
	
		
			 2013 South West Region Total (England and Wales) Cost to Public Funds (£) 
			 January 7 15 2,593 
			 February 10 20 2,903 
			 March 8 24 3,698 
			 April 4 11 1,462 
			 May 3 7 1,740 
			 June 7 13 4,888 
			 July 6 10 2,063 
			 August 9 17 2,898 
			 September 3 6 739 
			 October 12 18 2,045 
			 November 7 14 3,141 
			 December 6 24 4,075 
			 Total 82 179 32,245

Armed Forces: Pensions

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 64W, on armed forces: pensions, what saving was made through the 10 voluntarily surrendered Armed Forces Pension Scheme 75 widows payments in 2013.

Philip Dunne: The combined annual saving made through the 10 voluntarily surrendered Armed Forces Pension Scheme 75 widows pensions was £31,294.
	It is a long-standing fundamental principle, adopted by successive Governments, that pensions should not be improved retrospectively for those who are no longer contributing members, or for their dependants.
	Note:
	Total saving is based upon the annual amounts of pension in payment at the point of surrender.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of (a) rape, (b) attempted rape, (c) sexual assault by penetration and (d) sexual assault were referred to the Services Prosecuting Authority from the Royal Military Police in each of the last three years; and how many such cases were prosecuted (i) successfully and (ii) unsuccessfully.

Philip Dunne: It will take time to collate this information. The Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Army: Recruitment

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of his Department's recent More than meets the eye recruitment campaign.

Anna Soubry: The Army's More Than Meets The Eye recruiting campaign began on 11 January 2014 and is aimed at attracting both regular and reserve candidates, as well as raising awareness of the wide variety of jobs available in the Army. The main marketing campaign will continue until the end of March, with some elements continuing throughout the year. While it is too early to make a judgment on the overall effectiveness of the campaign, indications to date have been encouraging.

Cryptography

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the End Crypto Graphic Unit programme to be completed.

Philip Dunne: I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 68W, on equality, what the (a) number of staff and (b) total salary cost of the Head Office team members in equality and diversity roles was in each year from 2008-09 to 2013-14.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to maintaining an inclusive culture that recognises and values diversity and delivers opportunities for all. Since April 2012 the service and civilian Equality and Diversity (E&D) teams in Head Office have been rationalised as we look to implement a unified approach towards E&D issues at the strategic level. Our aims in this area are set out in our Strategic Equality Objectives 2012-16, available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/227514/ea10_strategic_equality_objectives.pdf
	The requested information is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 MOD Head Office Equality and Diversity Function financial year (FY) 2008-09 to FY 2013-14 
			 Financial year Number of staff Approximate salary costs (£) 
			 2008-09 12 620,000 
			 2009-10 9 540,000 
			 2010-11 9 540,000 
			 2011-12 7 380,000 
			 2012-13 4 220,000 
			 2013-14 5 250,000

Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability Programme

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the National Audit Office's Major Project Reports 2013, HC 817-i, published on 13 February 2014, Appendices and project summary sheets, what the contractual confusion was regarding the life support plan and integrated logistics support solution for the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability Programme.

Philip Dunne: The report articulates a risk of confusion regarding responsibilities and requirements by the contractor in delivery of the integrated logistics support (ILS) solution for the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability Tankers.
	If this risk occurred, it may affect the successful delivery of the logistics support package. This risk having been identified, is, however, being actively managed by the Ministry of Defence in close co-operation with the contractor and ILS specialist companies.

Military Bases: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2013, Official Report, columns 480-81W, on military bases: Yorkshire and the Humber, what communications by letter or email (a) his Department and (b) the office of the Chief of the Defence Staff have received from personnel within 15 Brigade Headquarters about the case for basing the new Adaptive Force Brigade Headquarters in (i) Catterick and (ii) York; and if he will place copies of those letters and emails in the Library.

Andrew Murrison: Officials are checking whether any relevant communications on this matter have been received and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
	Substantive answer from Dr Murrison to Hugh Bayley:
	I undertook to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Question on 6 January 2014 (Official Report, column 15W-16W) about communications by letter or email that (a) the Department and (b) the office of the Chief of the Defence Staff have received from personnel within 15 Brigade Headquarters about the case for basing the new Adaptive Force Brigade Headquarters in (i) Catterick and (ii) York.
	I am able to tell you that, following a comprehensive search of all relevant records, the Department and the office of the Chief of the Defence Staff have been unable to identify any correspondence of this nature.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Defence Planning Assumptions set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review in October 2010 remain in place.

Mark Francois: The 2010 Defence Planning Assumptions (DPAs) set out in the last Strategic Defence and Security Review remain in place and continue to guide defence planning and shape the delivery of Future Force 2020. DPAs are further fine-tuned by guidance given in the classified Defence Strategic Direction and Defence Plan documents, in order to reflect adjustments required by the National Security Strategy and National Security Council.

Vehicles

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what turnover levels companies must meet under the Government Vehicle Lease framework.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 74W.

Warships

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many naval ships are at sea on duty; on what tasks; and where.

Mark Francois: As at 5 March 2014 there are a total of 32 Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships on duty and at sea with a further nine ships generating for tasking. The taskings and locations are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Tasking Location Number of ships 
			 Deployed Overseas   
			 Maritime Security Operations Middle East 10 
			 Chemicals (escorting removal from Syria) Mediterranean 1 
			 Maritime Security Operations Gibraltar 2 
			 Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Maritime Group 1 Mediterranean 1 
			 Atlantic Patrol Tasking (North) Caribbean 1 
			 Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South) West Africa 2 
			 Antarctic Survey Antarctic 1 
			 Falkland Island Patrol Ship Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 1 
			 Transiting back to UK Gibraltar 1 
			    
			 UK Operations   
			 UK Contingency Operations UK waters 12 
		
	
	This response excludes submarines as the release of this information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

CABINET OFFICE

Eating Disorders

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people with an eating disorder died in the UK in each of the last three years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker, dated March 2014
	In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people with an eating disorder died in the UK in each of the last three years [190382].
	Table 1 presents the number of deaths in the UK where an eating disorder was the underlying cause of death for deaths registered in each year between 2010 and 2012 (the latest year available). Table 2 presents the number of deaths in the UK for which an eating disorder was mentioned on the death certificate for deaths registered in each year between 2010 and 2012 (the latest year available).
	The accurate reporting of mortality statistics depends on the complete recording of all relevant causes of death by medical practitioners and coroners. Medical practitioners are required to complete the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) to the best of their knowledge and belief. Internationally accepted guidance from the World Health Organisation requires only those conditions that contributed directly to the death to be recorded. The MCCD is not designed to collect information on risk factors or exposures related to the development of disease. If the medical practitioner did not feel that an individual's eating disorder contributed directly to their death then the fact that they had an eating disorder may not have been recorded. It is likely, therefore, that the figures presented here are an underestimate of the number of people who had an eating disorder at the time of their death.
	The number of deaths registered in England and Wales each year, by sex, age group and underlying cause is published annually on the ONS website:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/mortality-statistics-deaths-registered-in-england-and-wales-series-dr-/index.html
	Figures for deaths in Scotland are available from the General Register for Scotland's website:
	http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/vital-events/general/ref-tables/2012/section-6-deaths-causes.html
	Figures for deaths in Northern Ireland are available from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency:
	http://www.nisra.gov.uk/demography/default.asp14.htm
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of deaths in the UK where the underlying cause of death was an eating disorder, deaths registered in each year between 2010 and 2012 
			  Number 
			 2010 20 
			 2011 22 
			 2012 37 
			 Notes: 1. Eating disorders were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code F50. 2 Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. Source: Office for National Statistics. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of deaths in the UK for which an eating disorder was mentioned on the death certificate, deaths registered in each year between 2010 and 2012 
			  Number 
			 2010 66 
			 2011 49 
			 2012 65 
			 Notes: 1. Eating disorders were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code F50. 2 Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. Source: Office for National Statistics.

Government Departments: Directors

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the total amount of remuneration paid to non-executive directors of Government departments was for the financial year (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2012-13.

Francis Maude: Since the last general election the Cabinet Office has overhauled, strengthened and formalised the system of non-executive directors which operated under the previous Administration.
	Remuneration for non-executive board members is detailed in 'Corporate governance in central government departments: Code of good practice July 2011—Guidance Note' and is in line with that of the Bank of England's non-executive Directors of Court.
	In 2012-13, 28% of the 67 non-executives either waived their fee or donated it to charity.

Government Departments: Procurement

Aidan Burley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress his Department has made in enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to tender for Government procurement contracts.

Nick Hurd: Central Government's direct SME spend increased from £3 billion in 2009-10 (6.5%) to £4.5 billion (10.5%) in 2012-13. In addition, figures provided by major government suppliers indicate that SMEs have benefited from a further £4 billion (9.4%) in indirect spend through the supply chain for 2012 to 2013.
	Building on central Government reforms to make its business more accessible to small and medium-sized businesses, the Government published in Small Business Great Ambition, the next steps in taking forward Lord Young's recommendations to create an SME-friendly “single market” for public procurement.

ICT: Education

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 200W, on IT: education, with which groups and organisations his Department has engaged to support the Year of the Code; and what support his Department has so provided.

Nick Hurd: Cabinet Office is engaging with groups including e-skills UK, the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology. This builds on ongoing work across Government to build links with schools, universities and employers.

Staff

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were employed in Number 10 Downing Street in 2012; and how many people are so employed currently.

Francis Maude: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
	As part of this Government's transparency agenda, information on working in the Cabinet Office is published on gov.uk
	The latest organogram for the Cabinet Office may be viewed at
	http://data.gov.uk/organogram/cabinet-office

Unemployment

Kate Green: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average duration of unemployment or inactivity is of those who become unemployed or inactive having previously been in employment for (a) less than six months, (b) between six months and a year, (c) between one and two years, (d) between two and three years, (e) between three and four years, (f)  between four and five years, (g) between five and 10 years and (h) 10 or more years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker, dated March 2014
	In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the average duration of unemployment or inactivity is of those who become unemployed or inactive having previously been in employment for (a) less than six months, (b) between six months and a year, (c) between one and two years, (d) between two and three years, (e) between three and four years, (f) between four and five years, (g) between five and 10 years and (h) 10 or more years. (190220)
	The requested information is not available. However, some relevant information is available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) which provides estimates of people in employment, unemployment and economic inactivity. In November 2013, the ONS published a report titled: 'Moving between Unemployment and Employment' that utilised the LFS longitudinal datasets. This report noted that employment length was an important characteristic to consider in estimating the likelihood of an individual losing their job and the following observations were made from the analysis carried out:
	Between April-June 2012 and April-June 2013, an individual who had been in employment for less than six months was 8.5 times more likely to move from employment into unemployment than someone who had been employed for between 5 and 10 years.
	Over the same period someone in employment for less than six months was 3.0 times more likely to move from employment into inactivity than someone who had employed for over 10 years.
	The full report can be found on the ONS website, from the following URL:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_335141.pdf

Unemployment

Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of the level of underemployment.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker
	In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what recent assessment he has made of the level of underemployment. (902867)
	Time-related underemployment is defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as occurring where the number of hours of work for an employed person is insufficient, and that the person is willing to engage in more work and is not already working more than a specified number of hours.
	Other forms of underemployment exist, such as that related to the underutilisation of people's skills and qualifications. However, estimates of these are not currently available.
	Based on the ILO definition and the data available, employed people (aged 16 or over) are classified as in time-related underemployment if:
	they are willing to work more hours because they want an additional job, a replacement job with longer hours, or want more hours in their current job;
	they are available to start working longer hours within 2 weeks and;
	the hours they worked in the reference week did not exceed 40 hours (if they are under 18 years of age) or 48 hours (if they are over 18 years of age).
	Estimates for the number of underemployed workers are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). It is estimated that, for the period October to December 2013, there were 3.125 million people who met the criteria to be classified as underemployed. This is 10.5% of employed population. These estimates are not seasonally adjusted.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. It is estimated that the true value is likely to lie between 2.983 million and 3.267 million.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to advertise the availability of his Department's fund to increase voter registration.

Greg Clark: On 5 February the Government announced that up to £4.2 million funding will be shared by five national organisations and all 363 local authorities and valuation joint boards in Great Britain.
	Each authority was informed directly of the financial allocation and help and support to EROs to make best use of the funding has been made available by the Association of Electoral Administrators.
	The Government encourages organisations who wish to support efforts to maximise registration in their community to contact their local Electoral Registration Officer.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he has taken to make hon. Members aware of the £4.2 million fund for increasing voter registration.

Greg Clark: Apart from the funding allocation to five national organisations, the fund is directed at Electoral Registration Officers who have the statutory responsibility to ensure a complete and accurate electoral register.
	The allocation of funding was described to hon. Members during Deputy Prime Minister’s questions on 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 701W.

Politics and Government: Young People

John Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to increase awareness of and interest in politics among young people aged 16 to 24 years old.

Greg Clark: On 5 February, the Government announced that all 363 local authorities and valuation joint boards in Great Britain and five national organisations will be sharing £4.2 million of funding aimed at ensuring every eligible person in the country, including young people, is signed up to the electoral register and has their chance to vote.
	To improve registration levels for young people, the Government has made the Rock Enrol! learning resource available, which promotes democratic engagement and encourages young people to register to vote.
	The Government also manages a student forum that brings together key people within the Higher/Further Education (HFE) sector, the National Union of Students and local authorities with the highest student populations. The forum aims to reinforce the maximum registration of students and increases Individual Electoral Registration awareness across the HFE sector.

Returning Officers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the performance of returning officers is monitored.

Greg Clark: The Electoral Commission publishes performance standards for Returning Officers as provided for in the Electoral Administration Act 2006. The Commission monitors and reports on the performance of Returning Officers. It also provides support and guidance to enable improvements in electoral practice.
	In addition, the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 provides for a Returning Officer’s fee to be reduced by the Secretary of State following a recommendation by the Commission, in the event of inadequate performance at a UK parliamentary election.

Returning Officers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was paid to returning officers in each of the last 10 years.

Greg Clark: The amount recoverable by Returning Officers in respect of services rendered at national polls in the last 10 years has been set out in successive Orders. Fees paid to Returning Officers in local polls are the responsibility of their local authorities.
	
		
			  Total paid (£) 
			 2004-05 1— 
			 2006 2— 
			 2007 2— 
			 2008 2— 
			 2009 2,386,069 
			 2010 2,160,811 
			 2011 2,468,766 
			 2012 2,068,931 
			 2013 2— 
			 1 No overall total is available. In 2004 and 2005, the calculations for Returning Officers’ fees were not listed by individual counting areas in the Orders. 2 No national elections were held.

Voting Behaviour: Young People

John Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of people aged 18 to 24 years who vote in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK.

Greg Clark: The Government has made no such estimate.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefits

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of those making a new claim for jobseeker's allowance immediately before their claim was made were (a) in employment, (b) in receipt of employment support allowance, incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance or income support and (c) neither in employment nor claiming another out of work benefit;
	(2)  how many individuals made a claim for any of jobseeker's allowance, incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance, employment support allowance or income support (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three or more times in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what proportion of those making a new claim for employment and support allowance immediately before their claim was made were (a) in employment, (b) in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or income support or (c) neither in employment nor claiming another out of work benefit.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Disability

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government's Disability Confident campaign in helping more people with disabilities (a) into work and (b) to fulfil their potential.

Esther McVey: The Government’s Disability Confident Campaign is about changing attitudes and consequently increasing opportunities for disabled people to get jobs, and we have not assessed the impact of the campaign and events in terms of numbers getting into jobs. The campaign is part of our overall Disability and Health Employment Strategy, and over time we will monitor the number of disabled people in work and the employment gap. Following the Disability Confident regional events, we will also support employers who have pledged to make changes to offer more opportunities for disabled people, and assess how attitudes have been changed.

Disability Employment Support Review

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to implement the report Getting in, staying in and getting on, published in June 2011.

Esther McVey: The Government confirmed in March 2012 that it accepted many of the recommendations in “Getting in, Staying in and Getting On”, focusing resources on tailored personalised support for individuals through services like Access to Work, rather than “one size fits all” institutions and programmes, so that more disabled people can work in mainstream employment.
	Remploy's commercial process for the exit of its factory businesses is complete and has resulted in five business sales. The Government has also implemented a number of changes to the Access to Work programme, including funding the physical transfer of specialist equipment paid for by Access to Work to a new employer and introducing a “fast-track” application process for customers who know what support they need. Access to Work has also been extended to include a number of opportunities that help people get ready for employment, including sector-based work academies, supported internships and traineeships.
	The Government published “The disability and health employment strategy: the
	discussion so far” in December 2013. It is the next important step in developing our approach and widening our focus, and sets out a range of proposals to further improve our employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions. We will continue discussion with a wide range of stakeholders, including disabled people and those with health conditions, as we develop our more detailed delivery proposals.

Disability Living Allowance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost of processing and managing claims for disability living allowance was in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11, (d) 2011-12 and (e) 2012-13.

Michael Penning: The total cost of processing and managing claims for disability living allowance was as follows:
	2011-12—£62,317,000
	2012-13—£68,960,000
	We have not provided data for years prior to 2011-12 as the data was collated differently and is not comparable to 2011-12 and 2012-13.
	The information supplied is at Level 1 Operating Costs. This is the staff and non-staff costs which a Benefit Centre Manager can influence. They do not include any staff or non-staff costs charged to Corporate areas e.g. Estates costs, HR, Finance, IT costs.

Employment and Support Allowance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 669W, on employment and support allowance, how many people in the work-related activity group who have not been seen by an assessor have been in contact with the Work programme to date.

Esther McVey: I refer the right hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 583W.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which back-to-work schemes being delivered by local authorities he has visited since May 2010.

Esther McVey: Since May 2010, the Secretary of State has visited a large number of back-to-work schemes. Of those being delivered by local authorities, he has visited the following:
	Worknet Employment and Skills Programme-Waltham Forest council
	Kent Jobs for Kent Young people-Kent county council
	Westminster Working-Westminster council

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 6W, on equality, what the figures are for 2013-14.

Michael Penning: The information requested is not available as it forms part of the current year's annual accounts which have not been audited.

Health and Safety Executive

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which sectors of the economy are excluded from the requirement for inspection by the Health and Safety Executive.

Michael Penning: No sectors of economic activity are excluded from the requirement for inspection by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
	HSE, like all publicly funded bodies has to make decisions on relative priorities. Consistent with the Government's framework document 'Good Health and Safety, Good for Everyone', HSE's proactive inspections are focussed on higher risk sectors (eg construction, waste and recycling, and certain areas of manufacturing) and major hazard industries. HSE inspectors also visit premises to investigate accidents or concerns that might lead an inspection where intelligence suggests, that standards of health and safety management are inadequate and that significant risks exist.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people who have stopped claiming jobseeker's allowance in each of the last six months have done so following the application of sanctions.

Esther McVey: Jobseekers with a sanction on their benefit still have a live claim in place as long as they continue to attend fortnightly signing. Should they choose to end their claim they are not required to give a reason. Therefore the information requested on the numbers of claims terminated that have had a sanction in place within the life of the claim is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on errors in processing claims for jobseeker's allowance.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available to the level of detail required, however processing of jobseekers allowance claims is continually improving with 92% of benefits being processed on time. This is an increase of six percentage points since 2009-10.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times claimants for jobseeker's allowance were sanctioned inappropriately due to processing errors in the last year for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will investigate the effect of sanctions on jobseeker's allowance claimants.

Esther McVey: We continue to monitor the current sanctions regime as a matter of course to ensure that it meets the intended outcomes. We have already committed to an independent review by Matthew Oakley which will look at communications and offer recommendations to improve the operations of the jobseeker’s allowance sanctions process.
	We will be sharing further evidence on sanctions through forthcoming evaluations which will provide additional insight and help to inform our future strategy. This includes work programme and claimant commitment evaluations.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pagers have been provided to staff by his Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers.

Michael Penning: DWP have provided no new pagers to staff since May 2010.

Remploy

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will provide additional funding to former workers in Remploy sites who have opened their own businesses;
	(2)  if he will take steps to provide former Remploy workers living in England a grant based on wage incentives;
	(3)  if he will extend the former Remploy worker's financial support scheme;
	(4)  for what purposes have grants given to former Remploy worker's individual funding grants been used;
	(5)  what proportion of former Remploy workers' individual funding grants remain to be distributed before the conclusion of this programme; and what estimate he has made of whether any such funding will go unclaimed;
	(6)  how much of the former Remploy workers' individual funding grants have been distributed to these workers.

Michael Penning: The Government recognised that former Remploy disabled employees may need extra support to find alternative employment. That is why we put in place an £8 million guaranteed People Help and Support Package, specifically to help disabled former Remploy workers made redundant as a result of factory closures. Latest figures show that, as at 21 February 2014, a total of 930 jobs have been found and 699 former Remploy disabled workers are currently in work.
	The support package can provide help to each affected disabled former employee for up to 18 months from the date they left Remploy. After this, specialist support will continue to be available, usually providing continuation of support from the same specialist employment advisor.
	The support package includes access to a Personal Budget, which can include support for people taking up self employment or forming part of a social enterprise. Personal Budget awards can pay for items such as training, tools and equipment.
	Individuals have also been referred to Community Support Fund projects where, in areas affected by factory closures, local organisations support former Remploy workers to move into employment and take part in social activities. To date 827 former employees have taken part in a range of Community Support Fund activities which have helped support 217 into employment.
	A three year wage subsidy totalling £6,400 for each former Remploy disabled employee who transferred to a new employer was made available to the businesses sold as part of Remploy's commercial process.
	Up to the end of January 2014, DWP has spent £4.2 million on providing individual support. We do not expect any of the available funding to go unclaimed.
	Following the end of the 18 months support, former Remploy employees that need it will continue to receive the specialist employment support that is available to all disabled people looking for a job. In most cases this will mean continuation of support from the same Disability Employment Adviser.
	Former Remploy employees may also qualify for the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA). The NEA helps unemployed people who want to start their own business. It is available to people aged 18 and over who are claiming jobseeker's allowance (JSA), lone parents on income support and ESA claimants who are in the work related activity group but have not yet been mandated to the Work Programme.
	The NEA provides access to business mentoring and offers financial support in the form of an allowance worth up to £1,274 paid over six months, to help with cash-flow in the early months of trading. It also provides access to a start-up loan, if additional finance is needed to help get a business off the ground.

Remploy

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many former Remploy workers have found employment;
	(2)  what the proportion of former Remploy workers who are (a) unemployed, (b) in full-time employment and (c) in part-time employment is following the closure of the Remploy factory network.

Michael Penning: Of the disabled former Remploy employees who have given consent to be tracked, as at 21 February 2014 records show:
	(a) 482 disabled former Remploy employees are unemployed and claiming jobseeker’s allowance and 353 are claiming employment and support allowance.
	(b) 1,534 disabled former workers have engaged with a personal case worker, a total of 930 jobs have been found and 699 former Remploy disabled workers are currently in work of 16 hours or over. 435 Remploy workers' employment continued when they transferred with the businesses which were exited as part of Remploy's commercial process.
	(c) We are not able to separately identify the number of individuals who are currently working part time (under 16 hours a week).

Social Security Benefits

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals have been in receipt of (a) job seeker's allowance, (b) incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance and employment support allowance and (c) income support for (i) up to one year, (ii) between one and two years, (iii) between two and five years and (iv) over five years over the last 10 years.

Esther McVey: The information requested can be found at:
	https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp
	Guidance for users can be found at:
	https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

Social Security Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who have been refused benefit over the last 12 months; and what steps his Department has taken to ascertain whether those claimants are in receipt of any income.

Esther McVey: All claimants applying for benefit must fulfil conditions of entitlement criteria in order to be awarded benefit. All claimants are considered against these criteria in the claim process.
	The information requested on the income of those who were unsuccessful in their claim is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Cannock Chase

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit sanctions were issued in Cannock Chase constituency in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: The available information on how many benefit sanctions have been applied in Cannock Chase constituency, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of sanctions applied in Cannock Chase parliamentary constituency, in each of the last five years 
			  All benefit sanctions 
			 October 2008 to September 2009 740 
			 October 2009 to September 2010 1,000 
			 October 2010 to September 2011 1,240 
			 October 2011 to September 2012 1,110 
		
	
	
		
			 October 2012 to September 2013 1,110 
			 Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. The number of benefit sanctions applied is the number of sanction or disallowance referrals where the decision was found against the claimant. 3. Information on JSA and ESA sanctions is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Sources: JSA and ESA: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database. IS: Income Support Computer System

Work Capability Assessment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of employment and support allowance claimants who allege they did not receive letters informing them of their next work capability assessment.

Michael Penning: The requested data is not held by the Department.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints he received about the Work programme in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013.

Esther McVey: A breakdown of the number of complaints received about the Work programme is not held and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

TREASURY

Autumn Statement

Ian Swales: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will publish the data and calculations used to produce chart 2.H of Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Statement 2013; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  with reference to chart 2.H of his Department's publication Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Statement 2013, if he will publish the data on which that chart is based; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what the 10 items are that make up the change in public service spending for the top quintile of chart 2.H of Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Statement 2013; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  with reference to chart 2.H of his Department's publication Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Statement 2013, what the 10 items are that make up the change in public service spending for the top quintile; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: Details on the scope and methodology of this analysis are published in Chapter 3 in “Impact on households: distributional analysis to accompany Autumn Statement 2013”.

Business: Government Assistance

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on extending the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme beyond UK Ltd companies.

David Gauke: The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) offers a range of generous tax reliefs to individual investors who purchase new shares in small, early-stage companies to help those companies raise equity finance.
	SEIS is not limited to UK companies, but companies must have a permanent establishment in the UK in order to qualify. This is appropriate for a scheme that is aimed at supporting small, early-stage companies in the UK.

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 284W, on equality, what the (a) total departmental expenditure, (b) number and (c) cost of people employed for the purpose of promoting equality and diversity was in 2013-14 to date.

Nicky Morgan: The total expenditure for promoting equality and diversity in 2013-14, for which information is available, is £41,099 (April 2013 to January 2014). The expenditure includes funding for reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities as required by the disability section of the Equality Act.
	Staff costs on promoting equality and diversity 2013-14 are (i) one full-time equivalent employee at HM Treasury Range D/D2 (in current pay range £31,000 to £45,000) and (ii) from April 2013, 20% of an HR Business Partner leading on diversity at HM Treasury Range E (in current pay range £45,283 to £64,498).

National Insurance Contributions

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2014, Official Report, column 825W, on national insurance contributions, what the total value was of class 1 national insurance contribution paid by those earning less than the annualised primary threshold in each year since 2009-10.

David Gauke: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			 Tax year Primary threshold (annualised) (£) NI contributions by people with annual earnings below annualised PT (£ million) 
			 2009-101 5,715 323 
			 2010-111 5,715 329 
			 2011-122 7,225 420 
		
	
	
		
			 2012-133 7,605 600 
			 1 These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes for the year concerned. 2 This estimate is based on a 1% sample of end of year tax returns in respect of the tax year ending 5 April 2012. 3 These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes for the year 2011-12 projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's December 2013 economic and fiscal outlook. 
		
	
	This information is not available for years prior to 2009-10.
	Nobody with income below £10,000 in 2014-15 pays income tax as a result of this Government's measures.
	They pay national insurance contributions because employee national insurance contributions arise separately in each pay period; for example, weekly whenever earnings exceed the equivalent pay period employee threshold.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pagers have been provided to staff by his Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers.

Nicky Morgan: No pagers have been issued to staff at HM Treasury since May 2010. Therefore the cost to the department is nil.

Taxation: EU Nationals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what enforcement steps he is taking to ensure that EU migrants living and working in the UK are compliant with British tax laws.

David Gauke: HMRC takes very seriously the requirement for all those living and working in the UK to be compliant with UK tax law, and also plays its part in ensuring that the vulnerable are protected from exploitation by unscrupulous employers and landlords.
	HMRC uses all of the enforcement and compliance tools at its disposal to ensure that those who bend and break the rules are caught, to protect the integrity of the tax system and ensure everyone pays their fair share.

Welfare Tax Credits

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gender breakdown was of people in receipt of tax credits in each of the last five years.

Nicky Morgan: Table 3.1 of the Tax Credits Provisional Awards statistical publications produced in April 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 provides information about the number of single-adult recipient households by gender, and the number of couple recipient households.
	The publications can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-tax-credits-provisional-statistics-2013-to-2009

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Attorney-General what the (a) total departmental expenditure for the Law Officers Departments and (b) what the number and cost of people employed for the purpose of promoting equality and diversity was for each of the last five years.

Oliver Heald: The Treasury Solicitor's Department, Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate do not have a specific budget for promoting equality and diversity and do not employ individuals solely for that purpose.
	The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is part of Stonewall's Diversity Champions programme and pays an annual membership fee. In 2012-13 the SFO paid £6,125 to Stonewall, in 2011-12 £1,800, and in 2010-11 £225. The sum for 2012-13 includes annual membership for 2013-14 and 2014-15. Membership for 2010-11 was paid for in 2009-10.
	The following table provides details on the total expenditure incurred by the Crown Prosecution Service, along with information on the number of employees and employee cost during the previous five financial years. These figures are an update on the information published in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Philip Davies), on 29 August 2013, Official Report, column 998W, and include some additional costs associated with equality and diversity community engagement managers who operate at a local CPS area level and work on a wide variety of other operational management functions alongside equality and diversity functions.
	
		
			 CPS: Equality and diversity 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Total expenditure on equality and diversity (excluding staff) (£) 518,055 492,463 215,375 289,318 140,030 
			 Number of staff 26.5 27.9 24.5 22.4 20.2 
			 Cost of staff (£) 1,290,765 1,541,119 1,529,180 1,291,984 1,377,927 
		
	
	The majority of this expenditure is incurred by the CPS public accountability and inclusion directorate. Alongside its work to ensure the CPS meets its general and specific duties under equalities legislation, the directorate has strategic responsibility for the implementation of the Equality Act 2010, including policy around the Government priorities of preventing violence against women and girls and hate crime. The unit also has responsibilities for victims' right to review, complaints, public inquiries and parliamentary correspondence.

Food: Crime

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Attorney-General how many people were prosecuted for food crime offences in the UK in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is an Independent non-ministerial Government Department accountable to Parliament through Department of Health Ministers.
	Based on official returns provided by local authorities to the FSA the number of United Kingdom establishments prosecuted for either food hygiene or food standards (composition and labelling) in each of the last five years was:
	
		
			 Financial year Food Hygiene Food Standards 
			 2008-09 305 83 
			 2009-10 349 118 
			 2010-11 335 90 
			 2011-12 347 66 
			 2012-13 320 78 
		
	
	Data for 2013-14 are not yet available.
	The data are provided by local authorities as part of their annual enforcement returns to the FSA and relates to the number of establishments subject to prosecution, not the total number of offences taken or the number of individuals subject to prosecution—this level of data is not provided to the FSA as part of the local authority returns.
	Data for the number of individuals prosecuted are available in instances where the FSA is the enforcement authority, for example, in approved abattoirs and meat cutting establishments. For each of the last five years the number of individuals prosecuted by the FSA was:
	
		
			 Financial year FSA prosecutions 
			 2008-09 11 
			 2009-10 17 
			 2010-11 21 
			 2011-12 15 
			 2012-13 6

Horses: Exports

David Anderson: To ask the Attorney-General whether any successful prosecutions have been made in the last five years against those accused of exporting horses and ponies for slaughter; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Heald: There have not been any prosecutions for the export of horses or ponies for slaughter in the last five years.
	European and national legislation permits the export of horses to be slaughtered for human consumption. National legislation currently prohibits the export of ponies for slaughter for human consumption.

Serious Fraud Office

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  how much (a) wrongly-claimed VAT and (b) interest on such VAT the Serious Fraud Office has been required to pay to HM Revenue and Customs in 2014 to date;
	(2)  how much the Serious Fraud Office has been fined in respect of VAT claims in 2014 to date.

Oliver Heald: The amount paid in relation to VAT (including interest and penalties) has not been published because provision for this liability was part of a Supplementary Estimate and details of this have been withheld from publication for operational reasons.
	Financial details for the SFO will be reported in their 2013-14 accounts later this year.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit the possession and use of wild animals by circuses by the end of the present Parliament.

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the use of wild animals in circuses.

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made in preparing a Bill to outlaw the use of wild animals in circuses.

George Eustice: Last April, DEFRA published the draft Wild Animals in Circuses Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny. Under the proposed Bill, travelling circuses in England must stop using all wild animal acts by December 2015. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee has scrutinised the draft Bill and the Government's response to the EFRA Select Committee's report was published last October.
	We cannot comment on whether any particular Bill will be in the Queen's Speech ahead of the speech itself.

Biodiversity

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy that the new biodiversity offsetting scheme is mandatory;
	(2)  what his policy is on the inclusion of special habitats in the biodiversity offsetting scheme.

George Eustice: Following last autumn's policy consultation, the Government intends to make a further statement on its offsetting policy in due course. This will include whether it sees any need to move away from its stated preference for a fully permissive system.
	Offsetting is an adjunct to existing planning policy, not a replacement for it. All the protections given to special habitats in the National Planning Policy Framework will remain in place.

Environment Protection

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 574W, on biodiversity offsetting, what assessment he has made of (a) the findings on offsetting of the report from the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability on Victoria's environment and (b) reports from Canberra that conservation activities that would have happened anyway are being claimed as offsets in contravention of the principle of additionality; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: We have not yet made an assessment of this particular report which was published in November 2013 after the consultation on offsetting had closed. In the consultation we made it clear that offsets should not reward activity that would have happened anyway and sought views on how additionality should be ensured in the English context.

Flood Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of gross domestic product was spent on flood defences in each year since 2009.

Dan Rogerson: The following table details the proportion of GDP spent on flood defences from 2009 to 2012. As 2013-14 spend figures are not yet available, 2013 is excluded. In order to provide spend figures by calendar year, it has been assumed that spend accrued evenly across each financial year.
	
		
			 Calendar year Estimated spending on flood risk management England during calendar year (£ million) Spending as a proportion (percentage) of England’s GDP Estimated nominal England GDP (£ trillion) 
			 2009 617 0.051 1.2 
			 2010 661 0.052 1.3 
			 2011 597 0.045 1.3 
			 2012 575 0.043 1.3

Flood Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress he has made on ensuring all relevant organisations have a duty to share information and cooperate with local authorities and the Environment Agency to facilitate the management of flood risk.

Dan Rogerson: Progress on this issue was reported in the Government's final progress report on implementing the recommendations made by the Pitt Review, published in January 2012. Action on the issue was completed.

Flood Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps he has taken to ensure that local authorities tackle local problems of flooding by working with all relevant parties, establishing ownership and legal responsibility.

Dan Rogerson: Progress on this issue was reported in the Government's Final Progress Report on implementing the recommendations made in the Pitt Review, published in January 2012. Action on the issue was completed.

Flood Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps he has taken to ensure that local surface water management plans, as set out under PPS25 and co-ordinated by local authorities provide the basis for managing all local flood risk.

Dan Rogerson: Progress on this issue was reported in the Government's Final Progress Report on implementing the recommendations made in the Pitt Review, published in January 2012. Action on the issue was completed.

Flood Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps he has taken to ensure that local authorities lead on the management of local flood risk.

Dan Rogerson: Progress on this issue was reported in the Government's final progress report on implementing the recommendations made by the Pitt Review, published in January 2012.
	Some Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) are still developing their local strategies while others have consulted and published them.

Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) the Met Office and (b) the Environment Agency on the (i) costs, (ii) benefits and (iii) feasibility of a sliding scale of options for greater personalisation of public warning information.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency has undertaken an investment review for its flood warning and information service which it has shared with DEFRA. It is currently producing a five-year plan of priorities for developing its service.
	For the plan it analysed the costs and benefits of different service developments. Greater personalisation was one of its key priorities, though such developments can be expensive. To enable more personalised services to be developed at low or no cost to the Environment Agency, it shares its flood data with third party developers for them to develop flood warning services. Examples include the Shoothill Flood Alert map for Facebook and the Halcrow Flood Alert App for iPhone. This approach will be extended under the Environment Agency's five-year plan.
	The Environment Agency's flood warning service already provides a good level of personalisation of flood warnings. Each flood warning includes information and advice specific to the area. Flood warnings are sent through a range of channels that customers can choose from including landline telephone, fax, mobile phone, text messages, over the internet and by email. Over 1.1 million properties at risk of flooding can receive direct flood warnings in this way.
	The Environment Agency also uses social media such as Twitter and Facebook to share information about flooding. River and sea level information is available on its website, allowing people to monitor water levels in their area. Its Floodline service allows customers to speak to someone and get advice about flooding in their area.
	The Secretary of State visited the Met Office in June 2013 and I visited in January 2014. We were briefed on the weather forecasting services the Met Office provides to the public. The visits also included an overview of the Met Office National Severe Weather Warning Service and developments in forecasting capability, in particular around the prediction of heavy rainfall.

Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the accuracy of the one in (a) 100, (b) 75 and (c) 30 years chance predictors of flooding.

Dan Rogerson: In December 2013 the Environment Agency published new maps of risk of flooding from rivers and the sea. Preparation of this map included the most extensive evidence-based review of results by local experts ever undertaken. Accuracy will vary by location depending on available information.

Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the progress by the Environment Agency towards achieving a national overview of all flood risk, including surface water and groundwater flood risk.

Dan Rogerson: In fulfilling its strategic overview role and to provide a national overview, the Environment Agency published the national flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy for England in July 2011.
	The Environment Agency reports to the Minister every year about the application of the strategy and on the activities of Risk Management Authorities to manage all sources of flood and coastal erosion risk. The last report was published in July 2013.
	As part of this overview role the Environment Agency publishes national flood and coastal erosion risk maps on rivers, sea, reservoirs, surface water and coastal erosion using its own and local authority data.
	The Environment Agency is working with lead local flood authorities and others to prepare flood risk management plans for all sources of flooding covering all river basin districts in England. The plans set out the risks and management actions for the period 2015-21. This work helps the Environment Agency to deliver its overview role for flood risk in England, working in partnership with other risk management authorities.

Floods

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to allow (a) social housing providers and (b) local authorities to claim for flood relief funding provided to freehold owners of flood affected properties.

Dan Rogerson: holding answer 4 March 2014
	The Repair and Renew Grant will make a grant of up to £5,000 available to all homeowners and businesses that have been flooded to contribute towards improvements to their properties that would help reduce the impact and cost of any subsequent flooding. Details of the scheme are still being finalised but we expect social housing providers, including local authorities, to be eligible.

Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government has published an action plan to implement the recommendations of the Review released after the 2007 floods, with a director in his Department overseeing the programme of delivery and issuing regular updates.

Dan Rogerson: The Government's Response to Sir Michael Pitt's Review of the Summer 2007 Floods, published in December 2008, constituted the action plan to implement the recommendations of the Pitt Review. That document explained that the DEFRA director of floods and water would oversee delivery of the programme of works and ensure that regular progress reports were issued.
	Three progress reports were published, in June 2009, December 2009, and January 2012. The latter made clear that it was to be the final progress report.

Floods: Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Association of British Insurers on the replacement of old air bricks in flooded properties with new water-proof air bricks.

Dan Rogerson: We are working with local authorities, insurers and other relevant professionals to agree the arrangements for the roll out of the Repair and Renew grant scheme, before it is launched on 1 April. In this context, general discussions have taken place with representatives of the insurance industry on the subject of measures that may meet the criteria of making homes and businesses better equipped to withstand the impact of future flooding. No discussions have been held on the specific topic of air bricks.

Floods: Isle of Wight

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times (a) sea flooding and (b) land flooding has taken place in (i) the Medina, (ii) the Eastern Yar, (iii) the Western Yar and (iv) other brooks on the Isle of Wight in each of the last five years.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency holds information on the number of flooding reports it receives. However, it is highly likely that some flooding has also occurred at other times but has not been reported to the Environment Agency. In terms of flood reports received:
	For the Medina catchment; the Environment Agency has had six reports of sea flooding in total; twice in each of 2012, 2013 and 2014. Flooding from the rivers in the Medina catchment was reported once in 2013. Surface water flooding was reported twice in 2010.
	The Environment Agency has had no reports of sea flooding on the Eastern Yar catchment over the last five years. Flooding from the Eastern Yar River has been reported twice in each of 2013 and 2014. The Environment Agency has had one report of surface water flooding in 2012.
	For the Western Yar catchment; the Environment Agency has had four reports of sea flooding; once in 2012 and 2013, and twice in 2014. The Environment Agency has had no reports of river flooding over the last five years. It has had one report of surface water flooding in 2012.
	For other locations on the Isle of Wight; the Environment Agency has had reports of sea flooding in Ryde once in 2012. It has also had reports of flooding from the Monkton Mead Brook once in 2013, and flooding once from the Shorwell Stream in 2013, It has also had reports of surface water flooding in Ryde (twice in 2010, once in 2013, once in 2014), in Lake (once in 2010), in Seaview (once in 2010), in Wootton Bridge (once in 2010) and in Binstead (twice in 2011).

Floods: Isle of Wight

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been (a) sought for and (b) spent on (i) the Medina, (ii) the Eastern Yar, (iii) the Western Yar and (iv) other brooks on the Isle of Wight by (A) the Environment Agency and (B) his Department in each of the last five years.

Dan Rogerson: Over the past five years (2009-14) the Environment Agency has sought, received and spent over £1.1 million of DEFRA grant in aid managing flood risk on the Isle of Wight, this includes:
	£661,000 for river maintenance and incident response (£143,000 in 2009-10, £147,000 in 2010-11, £95,000 in 2011-12, £161,000 in 2012-13, £115,000 in 2013-14).
	£430,000 for mechanical and electrical asset maintenance, mapping and modelling improvements and capital investment in projects and studies.
	The above expenditure does not include Environment Agency salary costs relating to all other flood risk activities, e.g. strategic planning and development control.
	In addition to this, the Isle of Wight council receive new burdens funding, which is not ring fenced, for its role as a Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) and for the management of local sources of flooding. The amounts are as follows:
	2011-12: £120,000 as Local Services Support Grant (LSSG) from DEFRA
	2012-13: £155,000 as LSSG from DEFRA
	2013-14: £35,000 as LSSG from DEFRA and £120,000 rolled into the Business Rates Retention and Revenue Support Grant funding from DCLG.

Floods: South East Flood Control

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the expansion of Heathrow on the ability of local authorities in Berkshire, Surrey and the surrounding areas to manage high levels of rainfall.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency has provided advice to the Airports Commission on the Appraisal Framework for the proposed options of expansion at Heathrow. The Environment Agency has recommended that flood risk should be considered in the Appraisal Framework.
	Under the National Planning Framework any new airport infrastructure, and associated surface access, needs to ensure it does not increase flood risk to the surrounding areas. It is a statutory requirement that developers of such infrastructure undertake an appropriate Flood Risk Assessment. At the moment there are no detailed proposals to assess.
	The Environment Agency is engaging with the operators of Heathrow to ensure the appropriate assessments are carried out in due course.

Floods: Warrington

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Environment Agency is taking to protect houses in Chester Road, Warrington next to the River Mersey from flooding.

Dan Rogerson: Between 2007 and 2009, the Environment Agency undertook a strategy to assess flood risk in Warrington.
	The area of Wilderspool, which includes Chester Road, was investigated as part of this strategy and the flood risk in this area was found to be low. As such, the Environment Agency does not intend to undertake any flood risk management work in Wilderspool at this time.
	The areas with the highest risk of flooding in Warrington include Latchford, Howley and Westy. In partnership with Warrington borough council, the Environment Agency is building a £23 million flood alleviation scheme that will reduce the risk of flooding to over 2,000 homes and businesses in these areas.

Food Poverty

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he plans to take to implement the findings of Household food security in the UK: a review of food aid.

George Eustice: The research was commissioned as part of the Department's general work on food in the UK, to see what information was available on the issue. The report is a useful summary of currently available evidence.
	Through Healthy Start the Government provides a nutritional safety net, in a way that encourages healthy eating, to more than half a million pregnant women and children under four years old in very low income and disadvantaged families throughout the UK.

Food Supply

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he agrees with Professor Chris Elliott that there has been a culture of casual dishonesty in the food industry; and what measures his Department is considering to encourage strict adherence to the law and regulations in that industry.

George Eustice: It is the responsibility of food businesses to ensure that food they are supplying is safe and accurately described. Professor Elliott has said that UK consumers have access to perhaps the safest food in the world. However, the horsemeat fraud of 2013 has shown the real risk of the food industry being targeted by criminals. The Government has made it clear that all food businesses need to review their own systems and test their products to continue to demonstrate to consumers that they are in control of their supply chains following the EU-wide horsemeat fraud. The Government has been working with the food industry to encourage reporting of test results to the Food Standards Agency and to encourage the better sharing of intelligence to improve our ability to identify and prevent threats to the integrity of the food chain.
	The Government is currently considering all Professor Elliott's interim recommendations but is already acting to improve our ability to combat fraud and will respond fully to his final report to be published in spring 2014.

Forests

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much ancient woodland in England consists of areas of trees (a) larger and (b) smaller than two hectares; how many hectares of ancient woodland have been damaged or destroyed in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: Natural England's Ancient Woodland Inventory records the distribution of ancient woodland. Its records show that there are 364,308 ha of ancient woodland in England. The inventory splits ancient woodlands into two distinct types: ancient semi-natural woodland and plantations on ancient woodland sites. These are:
	Total number of distinct ancient woodland areas—34,669
	Total number over 2ha in size—22,247
	Total number of 2ha and less in size—12,422.
	The information on damaged and destroyed ancient woodland is not available and to attempt to gather this data would incur a disproportionate cost for the Department. However, the Woodland Trust estimates that, since 1998, 275 ha of ancient woodland has been lost to development. Figures suggest that less than 0.25% of ancient woodland has been built on since 1998.

Fracking

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what risk assessments he has made of the effect of fracking on water tables in Lancashire and East Sussex.

Dan Rogerson: Our regulatory regime is robust and will ensure that fracking will take place safely and that our environment, including the quality of our water, is properly protected. The Environment Agency will make an assessment of any chemicals an operator proposes to use in fracking and will not authorise the use of hazardous substances where there is an unacceptable risk they would enter groundwater.

Heathrow Airport

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effect of expansion of Heathrow airport on flood reservoir capacity in (a) Berkshire, (b) Surrey and (c) the surrounding areas.

Dan Rogerson: No assessment has been made as yet of the potential effects of any of the proposals set out in the Davies commission's interim report. However, DEFRA, the Environment Agency and Natural England have been represented on the commission's Sustainability Reference Group, which has supported the commission's work on the development of the appraisal methodology to be applied to the shortlisted options. This includes the need to assess key impacts, including on noise, air quality, biodiversity, water supply and flood risk, and is underpinned by an ecosystems services appraisal approach. The commission published the draft methodology for consultation and the final methodology will be published later in the year. The final assessment of the shortlisted options will be undertaken by the commission, independent of Government.

Internet

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what services his Department provides that are (a) available online only and (b) planned to move to online only.

Dan Rogerson: None of the services provided by core DEFRA for its external customers are made available online only.
	Where resources allow and business needs dictate, DEFRA’s services will be redeveloped in line with the cross-government “Digital by Default” Service Standard. Offering appropriate support to those who are genuinely unable to use online services is a key requirement of this standard.

Land Drainage

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to adopt sustainable drainage systems for the building of new developments and the renovation of existing landscapes.

Dan Rogerson: Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 introduces a Sustainable Drainage Systems Approving Body (SAB) in each English county or unitary authority to adopt and maintain approved Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) serving more than one property. We intend to lay the implementing secondary legislation in April.
	The Water White Paper signals our intent to continue to encourage the uptake and retrofitting of SuDS in existing properties. Also, a new clause in the Water Bill aims to increase the options open to sewerage undertakers in how they may exercise their duty to effectually drain an area. The clause makes clear that they can construct and use SuDS to exercise this duty.

Land Drainage

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the new national standards for sustainable drainage systems will be published.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA will consult on the revised national standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) shortly. Finalised standards will be published after notification to the European Commission and before implementation of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Pagers

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many pagers have been provided to staff by his Department since May 2010; and what the cost to the Department was of providing those pagers.

Dan Rogerson: Core DEFRA has not provided any pagers to staff since May 2010.

Public Expenditure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how much (a) resource and (b) capital funding was received by his Department, excluding non-departmental public bodies, to achieve its core responsibility of improving the environment in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14;
	(2)  how much (a) resource and (b) capital funding was received by his Department, excluding non-departmental public bodies, to achieve its core responsibility of safeguarding plant health in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14;
	(3)  how much (a) resource and (b) capital funding was received by his Department, excluding non-departmental public bodies, to achieve its core responsibility of growing the rural economy in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14;
	(4)  how much (a) resource and (b) capital funding was received by his Department, excluding non-departmental public bodies, to achieve its core responsibility of safeguarding animal health in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14.

Dan Rogerson: The Department's four priorities are cross-cutting, and consequently a number of its activities contribute to more than one priority. Detail of funding is held at activity level rather than priority level.
	The Department's Supplementary Estimates for 2012-13 and 2013-14 show the final funding the Department received in each year, broken down into a level of detail agreed as appropriate for the Department to report against. These can be found at the following links:
	2012-13—(Page 460)
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220680/supplementary_estimates _1213_defra.pdf
	2013-14—(Page 503)
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279575/supplementary_estimates_and_new_ estimates_2013_14_120214_correction.pdf

Reptiles: Imports

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many reptiles were imported into the EU according to Eurostat in each year from 2001 to 2013.

George Eustice: Information on the number of reptiles imported into the EU has been extracted from the Eurostat trade database (ec.europa.eu/eurostat/). Data for 2001 is not included as a product code specifically covering live reptiles only became available on the database from 2002 onwards.
	
		
			  Number 
			 2002 1,123,108 
			 2003 1,502,249 
			 2004 1,796,257 
			 2005 1,634,660 
			 2006 2,252,465 
			 2007 2,903,626 
			 2008 2,488,852 
			 2009 1,815,919 
			 2010 1,557,024 
			 2011 1,647,107 
			 2012 1,650,987 
			 2013 1,329,037